Pakistan minister’s admission revealed truth of Pulwama attack, silenced govt critics: Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Friday said that a Pakistani minister’s admission of his country’s involvement in the 2019 Pulwama attack has revealed the truth on the matter and silenced those who had questioned the NDA governments intent on the issue. His statement came at an election rally here a day after senior Pakistani minister Fawad Chaudhry sensationally admitted that his country was responsible for the Pulwama terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 40 CRPF personnel.

“A Pakistani minister has revealed the truth in the Pulwama attack by giving a statement in the National Assembly. Pakistan has accepted that they were behind the Pulwama attack. Until now, they had been saying they were not involved in it,” he said. Forty Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed on February 14, 2019, when a jeep laden with explosives had hit a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu- Srinagar highway at Lethpora in Pulwama.

Singh said, “Congress leaders had questioned our intent then. But now that a Pakistani minister has given a statement in the National Assembly that Pakistan was involved in the Pulwama attack, they are silent,” he said. He said Opposition leaders were indirectly empowering Pakistan.

“Whenever we work for the country’s security with all our strength, the Congress and other opposition leaders raise questions,” he said. The senior BJP leader said when former prime minister Indira Gandhi had divided Pakistan into two, BJP stalwart late Atal Bihari Vajpayee had praised her in Parliament.

“But, the Congress today has only one work left: doubting and raising questions over the government’s achievements. On the issue of the country’s territorial integrity, we should rise above political lines and work together, he added. Singh said the opposition keeps saying that China has “grabbed” India’s land, but if “we reveal the achievements of our Army, you all will jump out of joy”.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had said in a recent political rally that China had captured “1200 km” of Indian land. Singh said 20 Indian soldiers made the supreme sacrifice in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in clashes with Chinese troops to protect the country. Moving on to other issues, he said the country would have been in a much better position if the promises made by leaders in Independent India would have been fulfilled even partially.

“But we walk the talk,” he said, and listed the abrogation of Article 370, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, providing gas connection to households as major government achievements. He said it’s Prime Minister Narendra Modis resolve to provide tap water in every house and it is being done expeditiously.

Praising Chief Minister Nitish Kumars works and achievements, Singh said there is absolutely no stain on the JD(U) chief over his works during the 15 years of his rule. He said, “we don’t hold ‘Tel Piyawan, Danda Bhanjan’ rallies, we hold rallies for development”. Singhs reference to ‘Tel Piyawan, Danda Bhanjan’ (dipping lathis in oil and wielding them to assert power) was a throwback to an RJD rally in 2003, two years before the party was ousted from power in Bihar.

“We don’t open charwaha schools (schools for those grazing their cattle) now, we want to make their children IAS officers, IPS officers, doctors and engineers,” he said, ridiculing RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s pet project of Charwaha Vidyalaya. “The lantern (RJDs polls symbol) era has ended, and the LED era has ushered in,” he wryly said.