NEW DELHI, May 25: The Congress on Sunday objected strongly to BJP MP Ram Chander Jangra’s remarks that tourists should have put up a fight against terrorists in Pahalgam, demanding his sacking and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s apology in the matter.
The prime minister and the BJP leadership’s silence should be seen as a “tacit approval” of Jangra’s statement, said the opposition party. Its chief Mallikarjun Kharge claimed BJP leaders were competing with each other to malign the Pahalgam victims and the armed forces.
Jangra’s comments are being seen by the Congress as the latest in a series of deplorable remarks made recently by BJP leaders — Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah and the state’s deputy chief minister Jagdish Devda. Chiding the BJP in a post in Hindi on X, Kharge said, “The BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ram Chander Jangra’s shameful statement has once again exposed the petty mentality of RSS-BJP.
“MP Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda insulted our brave Army, but PM Modi did not take any action. MP Minister Vijay Shah made lewd comments on our brave colonel, but has not been sacked to date,” he said.In the long post, he noted that when the wife of the naval officer killed in Pahalgam was being trolled on social media, “Modi ji was silent even then”.
“Narendra Modi ji, you say that you have sindoor in your veins… If that is so, then you should sack these foul-mouthed leaders of yours for the respect of women,” Kharge added.Echoing the party chief’s sentiments, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that BJP leaders were constantly insulting the Indian Army and the martyrs, “which exposes their petty and lowly mindset”. “This shameful statement of Jangra shows that the BJP, intoxicated with power, has become so insensitive that instead of blaming the security lapse… in Pahalgam… BJP MPs are questioning the martyrs and their wives,” Ramesh said in a post on X. (PTI)
