Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday paid tribute to martyrs of the February 2019 Pulwama terror attack, days after senior party member Digvijaya Singh triggered a row with his statement on the Pulwama attack, and the September 2016 surgical strikes by the Army in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
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The Congress tweeted photos of Gandhi paying tribute to forty jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), who were targeted by a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist on February 14, 2019.
“Our tribute to the soil which has in it the blood of the brave martyrs of Pulwama attack. Today during #BharatJodoYatra, @RahulGandhi ji paid homage to the brave soldiers who were martyred in Pulwama attack,” the grand old party said in a tweet.
On Monday, party veteran Singh, who is prone to making controversial statements, sparked a fresh row when, addressing a public rally in Jammu during the Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra, he targeted prime minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP over the Pulwama attack and the surgical strikes.
{{/usCountry}}On Monday, party veteran Singh, who is prone to making controversial statements, sparked a fresh row when, addressing a public rally in Jammu during the Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra, he targeted prime minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP over the Pulwama attack and the surgical strikes.
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"Forty of our CRPF jawans were martyred in Pulwama. CRPF officials had requested the prime minister that personnel should be airlifted, but PM Modi didn't agree. How did such a lapse take place? Till date, no report on Pulwama was placed before Parliament," the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said.
"They (the government) claimed a surgical strike was carried out but didn't show proof. They only spread lies," the 75-year-old politician added.
Even as the BJP launched a response, the Congress distanced itself from the remark. The views are Digvijaya's own, and do not reflect the position of the Congress, said Jairam Ramesh, its General Secretary in-charge, Communications.
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Expressing his disagreement with Digvijaya, Rahul Gandhi, too, said it was the senior leader's own opinion and not the party's, adding that the Army does not need to give proof of its actions.