Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding that the PM explain to 140 crore Indians how many Rafale aircraft were shot down by the Pakistani Army during the recent conflict.
Addressing the 'Jai Hind' rally in Secunderabad, Reddy also sought to know why the PM, who had called for an all-party meeting before going to war with Pakistan, did not do so before calling off the armed conflict with the neighbouring country.
He also alleged that Modi failed to separate Balochistan from Pakistan and take control over Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), despite the wishes of 140 crore Indians.
"The soldiers of this (Secunderabad) Cantonment participated in the war. The war planes being manufactured in Telangana upheld respect for our country. Rafale aircraft brought by Narendra Modi were shot down by Pakistan. There is no discussion on how many Rafales were shot down. Narendra Modi should answer how many Rafael aircraft were shot down by Pakistan during the recent war. You give us the account," he asked the PM.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday lashed out at the Congress for its leaders' questions and jibes at the government following the conflict with Pakistan, and alleged that the opposition party's ongoing 'Jai Hind Yatra' looks more like "Jai Pakistan Yatra".
BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters that senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, have often asked about the number of aircraft India lost in the conflict, and accused Jairam Ramesh of equating MPs travelling abroad as members of all-party delegations with terrorists.
Gandhi never asked about the details of terror sites and air bases destroyed in Pakistan but his party has enquired about the losses of Indian jets more frequently than the neighbouring country, he said.
These leaders are like "babbar" (warrior) of Pakistan, he said, adding that they are gabbar of India, invoking the villain of iconic film Sholay, and added they will meet the same fate as the bandit did in the hands of heroes Jai and Veeru.
"Gabbar's defeat is certain due to India's jai (glory) and veerta (valour)." He noted that even Congress MPs are part of the seven all-party delegations currently on a visit to world capitals to put across India's stand following the Pahalgam terror attack and its punitive strikes against Pakistan.
Firing salvos, Reddy alleged that contracts worth thousands of crores were awarded to people close to Modi, who then purchased Rafale aircraft.
Reddy said senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Meenakshi Natarajan said only one thing that when it comes to national security, irrespective of political lines, everyone should come together and accordingly assured the NDA government that it would stand by it during the fight with Pakistan.
"After four days of war, we do not know who threatened whom and who succumbed to whom. All of a sudden, US President Donald Trump came out and said he threatened India and stopped the war," the CM said.
Mocking the prime minister that war is not giving lectures, Reddy said by stopping the war, Modi pledged the self-respect of 140 crore Indians.
He accused China of encroaching 4000 sq km of Indian territory even as PM Modi failed to give a befitting reply to the neighbour.
Reddy said former PM Indira Gandhi defeated China in 1967 and sent out a message to the world that if anybody messed with India, they would be taught a lesson.
He further said, despite threats by the then US government, Indira Gandhi did not go back on the Indo-Pak war in 1971 and went on creating Bangladesh by separating it from Pakistan.
Patra cited controversial statements of a number of Congress leaders, including some questioning military conflict with Pakistan and the suspension of Indus Water Treaty, since after the Pahalgam attack.
He said the opposition party might have claimed that it is with the government on the issue but it is lowering the morale of armed forces from the very beginning.
The Congress should suspend its Jai Hind Yatra, which is more like Jai Pakistan Yatra, and instead consult with Pakistan and hold a joint press conference, he said, claiming that Gandhi has been quoted frequently in Pakistan.
With the Congress increasingly turning caustic at its MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading the multi-party delegation to the US and four other countries, for his stout defence of the government's actions, Patra said the party is divided into two factions.
One supports Pakistan, he alleged, while another include those who want to raise their voice for India but cannot due to leaders like Gandhi.
He noted that another Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is a member of one of the delegarions, had spoken about the changes brought by the revocation of Article 370, and said somebody should relay the former Union minister's remarks to Gandhi.
During the Congress-led UPA rule, terrorists were invited to the Prime Minister's Office at the behest of the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he claimed and referred to reports that she had cried over the killing of some young terrorists in the Batla House encounter.
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