Kargil Vijay Diwas: BJP reminds Congress how it did not celebrate war victory till 2009
BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala took to Twitter to remind users about the United Progressive Alliance government not officially celebrating Kargil Vijay Diwas from 2004-2009. Shehzad cited remarks made by Congress MP Rashid Alvi in 2009 when he said that the Kargil operation was not something that needed to be celebrated.
FollowThe Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday once again reminded the Congress of how the latter had tried to downplay the heroic achievements of Indian armed forces during Operation Vijay, which saw Pakistan being given a bloody nose in the Kargil heights for its misadventure.
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BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala took to Twitter to remind users about the United Progressive Alliance government not officially celebrating Kargil Vijay Diwas from 2004-2009.
Shehzad cited remarks made by Congress MP Rashid Alvi in 2009 when he said that the Kargil operation was not something that needed to be celebrated. Stating that the war was fought within Indian territory wherein the country did not even come to know when the Pakistani army crossed over and built bunkers inside our territory, Alvi had said that only the NDA may celebrate Operation Vijay.
To note, even though the Kargil war ended in 1999, the then Congress-led government did not celebrate the victory until 2009. This, even though then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee celebrated the Kargil Vijay Diwas during his tenure. Vajpayee used to take part in the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the India Gate.
But the United Progressive Alliance government ignored the celebration during its first term in power. It was in July 2009 that Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar raised the demand for celebrating Kargil Vijay Diwas, in the Parliament.
In his letter to then defence minister AK Antony, Chandrasekhar wrote: 'I draw the attention of the Honourable members to the 10th anniversary of the victory of the men and women of our armed forces over our enemies at Kargil -- on the 26th July. This day represents not just the victory of our proud country and its will prevailing over those of its enemies, but also, most importantly, it represents the inspirational sense of duty and sacrifice by thousands of men and women of our armed forces.'
'I believe the actions of the men and women of our armed forces in that conflict and every other conflict deserve out 'shradhanjali', respects and salutes. I appeal to the ministry of defence and the government to memorialise this day and celebrate it yearly. I also appeal to my colleagues in this House who oppose it on the grounds of this being a BJP war or something as ridiculous to stop this mockery,' he added.
The demand resonated among members of Parliament. The celebrations of Kargil Vijay Diwas were reinstated the same year due to the constant attempts made by MP Chandrasekhar. Antony then visited the Amar Jawan Jyoti as defence minister at India Gate in New Delhi on Kargil Vijay Diwas.
Also Read: Kargil Vijay Diwas 2022: 5 facts you need to know about the Indo-Pak war
