BJP slams Congress for cozying up to Pakistan after Revanth Reddy questions Balakot airstrike (WATCH)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday strongly criticized the Congress for repeatedly giving Pakistan a 'clean chit' after Telangana CM Revanth Reddy questioned India's Balakot strike in response to the 2019 Pulwama attack. The BJP accused the grand old party of undermining the bravery of the military and casting doubt on India's stance on terrorism by absolving Pakistan of responsibility.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that the Congress is receiving backing from Pakistan. "Now it has been clear that these are not mere coincidences but well thought experiment the way Congress party is taking stands for Pakistan and terrorism and giving them the clean chit... Now, Revanth Reddy, the Telangana CM, is not only giving clean chit to Pakistan on Pulwama and alleging India but also questioning the surgical strike...", he said.

Also read: Congress leader alleges Modi Govt's role in Pulwama attack, BJP slams party's clean chit to Pakistan (WATCH)

"In their attempt to oppose Modi, the Congress party is questioning the bravery of the military and putting India under question on the issue of terrorism by giving a clean chit to Pakistan. They are giving them a way to protect themselves at international forums from allegations of terrorism. This is the real intention of Congress and hence they are getting support from Pakistan," Poonawalla added.

BJP leader Prakash Reddy stated that the comments made by the Telangana Chief Minister are contrary to the "national interest."

"These are irresponsible statements and against the national interest. His statement on IB and R&AW and any other intelligence agency demoralises them. When you are talking about surgical strikes or Pulwama incidents, the IB or R&AW alone are not responsible. Even though those agencies are actively working, sometimes it happens...It's unfortunate. It is an irresponsible statement that demoralises intelligence activities. The Congress party changed its colours many a times just for the sake of votes and people know about your political ambition very well," he said.

BJP MP and party's national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi too slammed the Congress stating, "He (Revanth Reddy) must remember that 'Fawad Chaudhary' who is showering support on his (Revanth Reddy) biggest leader Rahul Gandhi has said it in Pakistan's national assembly as the minister of Imran Khan govt that 'humne Pulwama tak ghus ke mara hai'. Revanth Reddy has either no knowledge or such love (for Pakistan) that he is unable to see and listen even after the Pakistan minister has said this."

Blaming the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre for purportedly "failing" to avert the Pulwama attack, the Telangana Chief Minister criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asserting that his approach revolves solely around politics and election victories.

"For (Narendra) Modi, everything is political. Everything is about winning elections. His way of thinking is not good for the country. The time has come for the country to be rid of (Narendra) Modi and the BJP. Ask them anything and they will respond with 'Jai Shri Ram' (glory to Lord Ram). They failed to prevent the Pulwama attack. What was the IB doing? What was our intelligence network doing?" the Telangana CM said.

Alleging that Prime Minister Modi sought political and electoral advantages from the Pulwama attack and subsequent actions by the Indian Air Force (IAF), Reddy criticized Modi's handling of the situation.

"Modi-ji attempted to extract political and electoral benefits from the airstrikes after the Pulwama incident. I want to ask him: What were you doing? Why did you let it happen? What did you do to boost the country's internal security? Why did you not take the help of the agencies at your disposal such as the IB and R&AW? It was your failure. Nobody knows for sure if the airstrike, as was claimed, took place. If the responsibility of ensuring the country's internal security was with us, we wouldn't have left it in anyone's hands," he alleged.

Revanth Reddy's recent remarks come in the wake of similar controversial statements made by other Congress leaders, including Faridabad candidate Mahender Pratap Singh, former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar and Punjab unit president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring.

Also read: 'Pakistan-Congress partnership fully exposed': PM Modi after Fawad Chaudhry endorses Rahul Gandhi (WATCH)

The Pulwama attack occurred on February 14, 2019, when a suicide bomber targeted a CRPF bus with an IED, leading to the death of 40 personnel.

Following the attack, on February 26, the Indian Air Force conducted airstrikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror hideout in Balakot, Pakistan, resulting in the elimination of a significant number of terrorists and the destruction of their infrastructure.

Despite Pakistan's attempts to retaliate by targeting Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir, their efforts were successfully thwarted by the Indian Air Force.

It's worth nothing that in October 2020, Pakistan's then Science & Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry admitted that Islamabad was responsible for the deadly terrorist attack that brought the two countries to the brink of a war.

“Humne Hindustan ko ghus ke maara (We hit India in their home). Our success in Pulwama, is a success of this nation under the leadership of Imran Khan. You and us are all part of that success,” Fawad Chaudhry, the then Science & Technology Minister, had said in the National Assembly during a debate