New Delhi / Patna: The Balaklot attack has cast a long shadow on Indian electoral scene. Deviating from actual issues of governance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked the Congress and its allies for demoralising the security forces by asking for proof of air strikes. He also charged — with his inimitable mannerism — that the Congress was “making the enemy smile” by issuing such statements.
The Congress, having come out of hibernation and in no mood to back off, asserted that PM Modi, by his Rafale remarks, had himself debris unwittingly “questioned” the air strikes. The reference was to PM Modi’s attempt at the India Today conclave to hitch the absence of Rafale to the outcome of the recent air strikes, which could have been different if India had these aircraft.
The Congress sees in the remarks a tacit admission by the prime minister that his best laid plans had gone awry. “The prime minister has himself questioned the air strike. He said had the Rafale jets been there, the results would have been different.
What is the meaning of this?” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari demanded during a press conference. Asserting that the prime minister should himself explain how the outcome would have been different, Tewari held him responsible for the delay in induction of the French-made fighter jets by “cancelling” the earlier negotiations undertaken by the UPA.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi, too, had accused the prime minister on Saturday of being “solely responsible” for the delay in the arrival of Rafale. The aim of the opposition, the Prime Minister said at the NDA rally in Patna, is to “destroy Modi, while Modi is seeking to destroy terror.”
That seems to be narrative of the BJP government, for now. Couching it in his nationalistic agenda, Modi further reminded thousands of people who had gathered to hear him at Gandhi Maidan that when the entire country was rejoicing over the successful attack, “a few of our own people had voiced suspicion about the strikes”.
The Opposition, he said, has a one-point agenda — eliminate or remove Modi, who is a ‘chowkidar’ and ‘pradhan sewak’ of the country and its people. “Instead of considering the good work done by the Modi government, the Opposition nowadays is in a competition to abuse the ‘chowkidaar’, but rest assured, this ‘chowkidaar’ of yours is as alert as ever,” he added.