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KCR backs Rahul’s surgical strike proof demand, Sarma hit back with ‘Gandhi family loyalty jibe’
“There is nothing wrong with Rahul Gandhi asking for proof of the surgical strikes. Even now I am asking. Let the Government of India show. It is their responsibility. There are apprehensions among people,” Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said on Sunday.
Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao continued his attack on his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma over the 2016 surgical strikes that India had conducted across terror launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
_1644822593448.jpg "Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. ")
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Rao, also known as KCR, backed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s demand that the Union government provide proof of the strikes.
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“There is nothing wrong with Rahul Gandhi asking for proof of the surgical strikes. Even now I am asking. Let the Government of India show. It is their responsibility. There are apprehensions among people,” Rao said.
He accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre of spreading propaganda and said this is the reason why people were asking for proof. In an attack aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rao said, “In a democracy, you are not a monarch, you are not a king.”
A day later, Sarma said Opposition parties were insulting martyrs by raising questions on the anniversary of the Pulwama attack (February 14, 2019) in which a large number of paramilitary jawans were killed in a suicide bomb attack.
“In an attempt to prove their loyalty to Gandhi family, they've (opposition have) betrayed the Army. My loyalty is with the army. Abuse me all your life, I don’t care,” Sarma told news agency ANI.
The war of words began after Sarma spoke about the relationship between Rahul Gandhi and his late father Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi during an election rally in Uttarakhand.
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"He (Rahul Gandhi) seeks proof from our Army of the surgical strike, did we ever ask you for proof of whether you are Rajiv Gandhi's son or not? What right do you have to demand proof from my Army?" Sarma said on February 11.
Several other opposition leaders, besides Rao, have hit out at Sarma for the remarks.
"I've no relation with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, not even his party. He is an MP, who has a family history. Assam chief minister should apologise for his comment," Rao said on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Telangana chief minister urged Prime Minister Modi and BJP national president JP Nadda to sack Sarma from the Assam chief minister's post.
"How can the chief minister of Assam talk like this? There is a limit to holding on to patience," Rao said.
The Congress has also demanded Sarma's resignation from the top post. The Assam CM has defended his comments saying questioning the Army will "not be tolerated anymore".
