New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed on Saturday that three surgical strikes were carried out during former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's tenure. However, it wasn't publicised as the "Army wanted it to be a secret".
Addressing a gathering at Udaipur in poll-bound Rajasthan, Gandhi said, "It wasn't just PM Narendra Modi who carried out surgical strike against Pakistan in 2016. Did you know that there were three such strikes during Manmohan Singh's tenure? When Army approached Mr Singh and said that we need to retaliate against Pakistan, they also said that the force wants it to be a secret."
Further attacking the prime minister, the Congress president alleged that PM Modi reached into Army's domain and shaped surgical strike into a political asset. "We did what was asked from us. But Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party were fighting an election in Uttar Pradesh then and they were losing it. So, he decided to turn military's possession into a political asset," he said.
Reacting to his statement, BJP chief Amit Shah later said at a public meeting in Jodhpur district that Gandhi was insulting the martyrs of the country. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi took revenge for Army martyrs. Rahul Gandhi is saying that surgical strike was conducted to win Uttar Pradesh election. You insult the martyrs of the country. You could not even show some courage," he said.
Shah said that today Army jawans have developed a sense of pride that their government is standing behind them rock solid.
Gandhi said that PM Modi believes that he knows better than Army and other ministries. "He is convinced that he knows better than the Army what needs to be done in the force. He feels that he knows better than the foreign minister what needs to be done in foreign ministry, better than agriculture minister what needs to be done in agriculture because he has a sense that all knowledge comes out of his brain," the Congress president added.
He also claimed that non-performing assets (NPA) of banks was Rs 2 lakh crore during UPA rule and it rose to Rs 12 lakh crore during the BJP government at the Centre. "The government waived loans of 15 to 20 industrialists. Banking system is concentrated only for them. NPA is not of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, traders, doctors or lawyers," Gandhi said.
On demonetisation and the GST implementations, Gandhi claimed that people have confusion about these. "It was a scam, which opened doors for big companies. Demonetisation and the GST shattered the economy and broke common man's back. It opened doors for big companies," he said, alleging that the BJP government at the centre failed to create job opportunities for the youth.
When asked about data privacy, Gandhi said IT companies have understood that India and China has large data. "Data should remain with people and not crony capitalists. That is our belief," he said.
Claiming that even though India has medical insurance schemes like Ayushman Bharat, it does not have good hospitals, the Congress chief said, "We cannot run the country without pumping money into public health and education sectors."
He said, "India will surpass China if we have the right government for next 15-20 years. Respect those who have skills, India will surpass China." "China has a lead but we have not lost the competition," he said.
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