The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Congress of endorsing a call for a ceasefire with the banned CPI (Maoist) and said it has "exposed" the opposition party's “double standards” on the issue of taking on the Naxal menace.
The controversy erupted after a recent remark by Telangana Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud, who said that he would bring an appeal of a peace talk committee for a ceasefire with the CPI (Maoists) to the notice of chief minister A Revanth Reddy and also discuss the issue in the party's high-level committee.
Also Read | 'Thunder vs blunder': BJP's dig at Rahul Gandhi's 'surrender' remark on PM Modi
According to media reports, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee chief, while addressing a conference organised by the peace talks committee in Hyderabad on Sunday, also accused the Centre of aiming to eliminate Maoists to hand over mineral wealth in Chhattisgarh and other states to corporates.
How did BJP react to Congress leader's comment?
The BJP seized on the statement, with national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accusing the Congress of supporting Maoist insurgents for “vote bank politics.”
{{/usCountry}}The BJP seized on the statement, with national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accusing the Congress of supporting Maoist insurgents for “vote bank politics.”
{{/usCountry}}Poonawalla also asked why the grand old party "always stands with enemies of India – from Naxals to Pakistan-based terrorists”.
Also Read | BJP on Congress leader's ‘Rahul Gandhi would’ve taken PoK back' remarks: ‘Hilarious’
“When the Congress was in power (at the Centre) it used to call Naxalism the biggest internal security threat and today it has become the biggest issue of human rights for the party," Poonawalla said.
"After Naxal commanders like Basavarju were killed, the Congress is now shedding tears. Telangana Congress president says there should be a ceasefire with the Naxalites,” he added.
Terming the reported remarks of Goud as “shameful”, another BJP national spokesperson, Pradeep Bhandari, asked in a post on X, “Why does Congress always stand with enemies of India – Naxals to Pak-based terrorists?”
Also Read | BJP hails Salman Khurshid's Article 370 remarks, asks ‘will Congress turn on him like Tharoor’
He said the number of Maoist-hit districts coming down to just 18 in early 2025 from 126 in 2014 is a testament to the resolve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to make India “Naxal-free by 2026”.
"Instead of standing with India, he questions the government’s anti-Maoist operations and echoes the narrative of urban Naxals,” Bhandari alleged.
The Congress has yet to respond officially to the BJP’s charges.
(with PTI inputs)