BJP using defence forces for electoral gains: MNS chief

Thackeray disputed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) claims about the number of terrorist deaths in the airstrikes conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Balakot.

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using defence forces for electoral gains. Thackeray, who was addressing his workers on the 13th founding anniversary of the party, however, did not reveal if his party would contest the elections.

Thackeray was addressing his workers on the 13th founding anniversary of the party. He did not reveal if his party would contest the elections. (Kunal Patil/HT Photo)

Referring to the recent airstrikes conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Balakot, Thackeray disputed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) claims about the number of terrorist deaths. “[BJP president]Amit Shah claimed that 250-300 people died in the air strike. Was he a co-pilot in the fighter jet who counted the number of deaths?” he asked.

He said Wing Commander Abinandan Varthaman, who was captured by the Pakistani army, would not have been returned if there had been hundreds of casualties. He was also critical about how the government had handled the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed on February 14.

“Even if 10 people had died, would Pakistan hand over IAF pilot Abhinandan back to us? Would India have released any Pakistani if it had suffered such casualties?” Thackeray added. “The Pulwama attack was not an intelligence failure as there had been an alert that the entire stretch was unsafe,” he said.

He said the government’s claims, of there being an attack similar to Pulwama in the next two months, was only to divert the attention of people from BJP’s failures. He blamed BJPs’s IT cell for “spreading misinformation” and told his workers, “If they troll us in an abusive language, then bash them up”.