New Delhi [India], July 28 : Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pradeep Bhandari on Monday hit out at Congress MP P Chidambaram over his Operation Sindoor remark, stating that "Congress has become the main spokesperson of Pakistan."
The BJP leader mentioned that Congress gave a "clean chit" to Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and asked for "proofs" following the 2016 surgical strike, which showcases that the party is defending Pakistan even better than them.
"It is clear from P Chidambaram's statement that the Congress party is defending Pakistan even better than Pakistan is defending itself. After the 26/11 attack, they gave Pakistan a clean chit, after the surgical strike, they were asking for proof, and again they are not accepting that Pakistan was behind the Pahalgam terror attack...Congress has become the main spokesperson of Pakistan," Pradeep Bhandari told ANI.
Apart from Pradeep Bhadari, BJP National Spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia also slammed Congress over P Chidambaram's statement and said that the "primary motive" of Congress has been to give a clean chit to Pakistan, which shows that national security is not the priority for them.
"The primary motive of the Congress party is to give a clean chit to Pakistan, and it is also clear that national security issues are not a priority for the Congress party or Rahul Gandhi...In the past, after the Pahalgam terror attack took place, the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi have been trying to demoralise the armed forces of the country...", he said.
On April 22, terrorists attacked a group of tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 people. India launched Operation Sindoor in response, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Chidambaram questioned the government's narrative on the attack, suggesting that the terrorists could be "homegrown" and asking for evidence to prove they came from Pakistan. He also criticised the government for not disclosing details about Operation Sindoor.
In a July 27 interview with the Quint news outlet, Chidambaram raised questions on whether the Government had taken any follow-up steps to prevent another Pahalgam.
"Where are the terrorist attackers? Why have you not apprehended them? Why have you not even identified them? Suddenly, a news item emerges that we have arrested two or three people who gave them shelter. Now what happened to that?" Chidambaram asked.
Further, the Congress leader who served as the Home Minister in the UPA tenure said, the Government was "unwilling to disclose what the NIA has done all these weeks. Have they identified the terrorists, and where did they come from? I mean, for all we know, they could be homegrown terrorists. Why do you assume that they came from Pakistan? There's no evidence of that. They are also hiding the losses."