Is Cong fighting polls in India or Pak? asks Shah

Mait Shah said Modi govt to give befitting reply to Pak firing.

Hitting out at the Congress for raising doubts over government version of the Pakistani boat incident near Porbandar, BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday asked the opposition party whether it was fighting elections in India or Pakistan.

In his first-ever public meeting in Orissa after becoming party president, Shah wondered why Congress was hell-bent on demoralising the security forces. “The intelligence agencies and security forces prevented a suspected terror attack. I congratulate the Prime Minister, intelligence officers and Coast Guard on behalf of the BJP. When such a big attack was foiled, Congress thinks it fit to question the integrity of security forces. The Congress spokespersons now say those in the boat could have been petty smugglers and not terrorists,” said Shah, while addressing BJP’s ‘Mahasangram’ rally here.

“If a party gives statement in favour of any terrorist group, which was planning to attack the country, then the party needs to do introspection. I also want to tell Congress that when UPA was in power and jawans were fighting along the border, we used to encourage them,” he said, adding that AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi should tell Congress spokespersons to boost the morale of the defence personnel, instead of finding faults with NDA government’s efforts to curb terror.

Story continues below this ad

The BJP president said that during UPA tenure, 11 Pakistani terrorists reached Mumbai and carried out massacres. “The then government could not prevent the attack. On December 31 last year, suspected terrorists from Pakistan made similar attempt, but Indian Coast Guard tracked their movement. They were forced to explode themselves along with the boat,” Shah added.

Shah said the Narendra Modi government at the Centre was determined to foil any attack and give a befitting reply to cross-border firings. “Rahul asks what is the difference between UPA and NDA’s response to cross-border terrorism. Abhi Goli wahan se aati hai, par Gola yahan se jaata hai,” he said.

“Earlier, Pakistan used to open fire first and they ended it too. But now, we end the firing,” Shah added.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Top Stories

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (Image: Piyush Goyal X/File Photo)

India and US begin work on trade draft; Goyal underlines: No deal with a ‘gun to the head’

Entertainment This actor-writer, raised in Kamathipura, once set conditions before working with Dilip Kumar; disrupted Bollywood with his witty dialogues

St Stephen's College cricket team 1978. Front row (L to R): Shubro Sen, Ramchandra Guha, Amrit Mathur, Shubash Sharma, Piyush Pandey, Clement Rajkumar, Rajinder Amarnath, Arun Lal. (Photo: Special Arrangement)

Sports Ad-man Piyush Pandey tribute: He was the MS Dhoni of advertising, says historian Ramachandra Guha

Derek O'Brien writes: Number of public-sector vacancies is alarming. Can the government do something about them?

Opinion Number of public-sector vacancies is alarming. Can the government do something about them?

‘Bangladeshis’ and ‘ghuspaithiyas’: BJP MP Brij Lal stops five sanitation workers on road in to quiz them on video

‘Bangladeshis’, ‘ghuspaithiyas’: On camera, BJP MP quizzes 5 sanitation workers

Cities3 hr ago

BJP MP and former UP DGP Brij Lal has sparked controversy with a video accusing five sanitation workers in Lucknow's Gomti Nagar Extension of being Bangladeshi infiltrators. Lal, a former IPS officer, claims to know how terrorism works and alleges that these workers are a threat to the nation. He appeals to CM Yogi Adityanath to deport them and claims they have fake identities.

View all shorts

Live Blog

Loading Taboola...