Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, criticised by the Opposition over his ‘father-son’ barb at Rahul Gandhi, said on Sunday that the Congress was giving a “wrong interpretation” to his statement and making it an issue to “deviate from the real questions” raised by him.
“I raised certain questions — why did the Congress party, instead of appreciating the Indian Army after the surgical strike, questioned the soldiers? Why did the Congress abuse General Bipin Rawat while he was alive? You cannot escape from answering these questions. The country has these to be answered,” Sarma told The Sunday Express.
Is it wrong to stand by our great Armed forces? Let’s not question their patriotism. Don’t seek proof of what they did for the country.
India is not just a union of states. ‘Bharat’ is our Maa, not just a motherland. Questioning the jawans is an insult to our Maa! pic.twitter.com/0KdJoFLR0M— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 13, 2022
At an election rally in Uttarakhand on Friday, Sarma hit out at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for allegedly questioning the 2016 surgical strike against terrorists across the Line of Control (LoC). “India conducted the surgical strike in Pakistan under his (General Bipin Rawat’s) leadership. Rahul Gandhi demanded proof of the strike. Did we ever ask you for proof of whether you are Rajiv Gandhi’s son or not?” the BJP leader had said.
This statement prompted a sharp reaction from Congress leaders as well as other opposition parties, including Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Sarma.
“They are trying to misinterpret the remark. What I meant is that there are certain issues that one should not question. In any country, when the armed forces return from a strike, they get applause and praises. But here the Opposition Congress questioned it,” Sarma said.
He added that he was trying to question the Congress’s “disrespect” to the Army and General Rawat in Uttarakhand – which votes for its next Assembly on Monday – but the Congress was only “trying to deviate attention”.
Congress spared no effort to abuse and accuse General Bipin Rawat.From the day he became Army Chief , they questioned his abilities. But they get irked when I question them for disrespecting our brave soldiers. This is new India. Such attitude won’t be tolerated anymore. pic.twitter.com/NOQdZecnuD
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 13, 2022
Serving and retired Army personnel make up a sizeable portion of the electorate in Uttarakhand, and political parties have spoken about General Rawat – the Chief of Defence Staff who died in a helicopter crash in December 2021– during their campaign. Last week, PM Modi too attacked the Congress for allegedly questioning the surgical strike and the appointment of Gen Rawat as the CDS at a rally in the hill state.
Several Congress leaders have condemned Sarma’s remark against Rahul Gandhi. On Sunday, Mallikarjun Kharge – the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha – said: “It’s a childish and condemnable statement. For sake of power, he (Sarma) went to the BJP and now speaks the language of PM and the RSS who always indulge in character assassination. I never expected such remarks from him. A CM should know when and what to say,” Kharge said, referring to the 2015 switch by Sarma from the Congress to the BJP.
Congress leader from Assam and Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi also said that Sarma’s “language” reveals the “frustration and desperation of a party losing in Uttarakhand”.
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“This is not the language that represents the culture of Assam but it is common for people linked with murder, syndicates and mafia… His statements show the double standards of the RSS and the Sangh, who talk about Indian values and Hindu culture but when they open their mouths, only filth and abuses come out,” Gogoi wrote on Twitter.
BJP leaders, however, indicated their support of Sarma. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said it was an “irony” that the Congress “dynast” needed defending from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (Telangana CM’s party) and others.
“So much irony here – Cong dynast has to be defended by KCR n Uddhav’s (Thackeray) parties who have abused Rahul and his mother Sonia on so many numerous occasions,” Chandrasekhar tweeted.
“Congress and their ‘leaders’ conduct to India’s bravehearts and air warriors who responded to terrorists decisively with gutsy operations – was always shameless n they have never apologized for their lies n innuendo,” he added.
