The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the opposition Congress Party of loyalty to Pakistan after leaders called an attack on the air force in Jammu and Kashmir an electoral "stunt".
Congress figures including former Punjab State Chief Charanjeet Singh Channi termed the attack on Indian Air Force (IAF) convoy in Poonch a “poll stunt”.
BJP national spokesperson Sardar R P Singh told Sputnik India on Monday that Congress was repaying the Pakistani state for former information and broadcasting minister Fawad Chaudhry's comments in support of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, the son of assassinated prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
“If the Congress or other opposition members are terming the attack as poll stunt that means they are giving a clean chit to Pakistan terrorist network who is behind the attack," Singh said.
He said it was not the first time Gandhi and Pakistani leaders had been on the same page over Jammu and Kashmir, which the majority-BJP parliament demoted from a state to a union territory in 2019
"Earlier when Article 370 was abrogated [the act of removing the region's statehood], Rahul Gandhi said a blood bath was happening in Kashmir — and this was quoted by former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in the UN Assembly. So it’s along similar lines,” Singh said.
The BJP spokesperson further alleged that Congress' statements were aimed at attracting votes from the Muslim community.
“Such statements clearly show the frustration of the Congress and the entire opposition as they know that they will suffer a massive defeat in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections," Singh said. "They know that voters neither from the General category nor from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or Other Backward Class are voting for them because of their inclination towards Muslim votes.”
In a video shared with Sputnik India, Singh also said Channi’s comments disgraced the whole Sikh community as well as Indian soldiers who must continuously fight against terrorism.
Not only Channi but former Congress parliamentarian Rajmani Patel and Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) Tej Pratap Yadav have called the attack on the IAF an electoral stunt.
The opposition MPs drew a parallel with the Pulwama attack of 2019, in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force men were killed, and alleged that Saturday's attack was also a "stunt" to help the BJP win.