At least 21 opposition parties in India have alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led ruling party of politicising the sacrifices made by their armed forces.
According to NDTV, India’s opposition comprising 21 political parties in a joint statement condemned the Pulwama incident and ‘expressed their deep anguish over the blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by Armed Forces by leaders of the ruling party’. “National security must transcend narrow political considerations. The leaders observed that the prime minister has, regrettably, not convened an-all party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy,” the statement, which was read out by Congress President Rahul Gandhi, said.
The leaders of opposition parties also showed concern on the emerging security situation. They urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity. Off the record, opposition leaders pointed out that Pakistan’s action is little short of war. Pakistan shooting down an Indian plane and capturing a pilot has not happened since the 1971 war. The BJP also came under attack for promoting a political event with PM Modi on Thursday. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, who did not attend the opposition meeting, also hit out at the government. “PM Modi must suspend his political activities until #WingCommanderAbhinandan is returned safely. It can’t be business as usual with him cross crossing the country at tax payer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive,” his tweet read.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who also skipped the meeting, tweeted, “When the all party meet happened, they were campaigning. When our pilot went missing, they were launching apps. The country demands that petty politics are set aside and our media acts responsibly so that our brave pilot is safely brought back home. #BringHimHome.” The meeting was attended by senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu, Sharad Pawar, JMM leader Shibu Soren, BSP leader SC Mishra, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party leader Derek O’Brian, Sharad Yadav and Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh.
Published in Daily Times, February 28th 2019.
