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‘His intelligence has failed’: Chouhan blasts Digvijay Singh over Pulwama tweet

Veteran Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Digivijay Singh said that the terror attack on the CRPF convoy was a result of “blatant intelligence failure”.

Congress’s “DNA should be examined”

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday hit out at veteran Congress leader Digvijay Singh over his tweet on the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, alleging that the former CM “speaks Pakistan’s language”. Paying tribute to the fallen CRPF jawans, Digivijay Singh claimed in a tweet that the terror attack on their convoy in 2019 was a result of “blatant intelligence failure”. “Today we pay homage to the 40 CRPF Martyrs who died because of the blatant Intelligence Failure in Pulwama,” Singh tweeted. “I hope all the Martyred Families have been suitably rehabilitated.”

More than 40 soldiers made the supreme sacrifice after a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into the CRPF convoy in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on this day in the year 2019. In a retaliatory attack, the Indian Air Force targeted terror camps in Pakistan’s Balakot.

Reacting to the Congress leader’s tweet, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “I think Digvijayji’s intelligence has failed, it is his failure. He insults the country’s Army and speaks the language of Pakistan. He tries to demoralise the Army,” Chouhan told reporters.

Digvijay Singh (file photo)

Seeking a reply from former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party MP Rahul Gandhi on this issue, Chouhan said an investigation is needed to find out who “sowed the seeds” in Digvijay Singh’s mind to “speak against the country and the Army.”

“It is Digvijaya Singh who should be probed – who sows seeds to speak against nation and Army in his brain?” the chief minister added. Chouhan further stated that the Congress’s “DNA should be examined” as the party walks with those who “talk about breaking India.”

“Leader of a party questions the patriotism and valour of armed forces and speaks Pakistan’s language. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should answer this.” This is not the first time Digvijaya Singh has raised questions about the Pulwama attack. Last month, Singh had alleged the BJP-led central government gave no proof of the retaliatory attack. The Congress and Rahul Gandhi had, however, distanced themselves from Singh’s remarks on the previous occasion.

 

 

‘PM Modi’s hands were shaking and…’: In Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi rakes up Adani issue

Rahul Gandhi questioned why parts of his speech in Parliament during the budget session were removed, but no words were expunged from Narendra Modi’s speech in which he allegedly insulted the Congress leader.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday launched a scathing attack on Narendra Modi over his alleged link with multi-billionaire Gautam Adani and said the prime minister “thinks that he is very powerful, but he doesn’t realize that the absolute last thing that I am scared of is Narendra Modi”.

Gandhi also questioned why parts of his speech in Parliament during the budget session were removed, but no words were expunged from the PM’s speech in which he allegedly insulted the Congress leader.

Recalling the speech he had made in Parliament recently in which he had raised certain matters pertaining to the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group of companies, Gandhi, while addressing Congress workers in his Lok Sabha constituency Wayanad, said he was asked to show proof with regard to what he had said. “Parts of my speech in Parliament were removed. I did not insult anybody. I was asked to show proof with regards to what I said and I have written a letter to the Lok Sabha speaker with every point they have removed along with supporting proof,” Gandhi said. “I don’t expect my words will be allowed to go on the record. The PM of the country directly insult me but his words are not taken off the record. He said why is your name Gandhi and not Nehru,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi
File Photo

A major part of Gandhi’s address during a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks on the President’s address was removed.

“Modi thinks that he is very powerful and people will get scared of him. He doesn’t realise that the absolute last thing that I am scared of is Narendra Modi,” the Wayanad MP said, escalating his attacks on the Prime Minister’s alleged link with Adani.

Gandhi also said the truth always comes out. “All you have to do was to look at my face when I was speaking and his face. Look how many times the PM drank water and how his hands were shaking while drinking water,” Gandhi said.  It’s important for everyone in this country to see the Parliament proceedings, comprehend what’s happening in the country and understand the “nexus between the PM and Mr Adani”, the Congress leader alleged.

 

Bharat Jodo Yatra’s Message: Surrender is not an option

The march has given hope and voice to the weaker sections, re-emphasized the vitality of constitutionalism and set the stage for a decisive political battle

‘New ideas will come up through this experience’

A walk that was probably the longest continuous march in recent history, an outreach that has the potential of redefining the nature of political mobilization, a gesture that transcended barriers of class and caste, a message that bridged the growing chasm between religious communities, a sentiment that flickered like rays of hope in the abyss of cynicism, came to fruition on Sunday.

Starting from the seashore in Kanyakumari where three oceans meet, the culmination of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the lap of the Himalayas reaffirms India’s faith in pluralism and assimilation of cultures and religions, apart from the constitutional principles of equality and justice. Woven around the lofty objectives of social harmony, national unity, democratic spirit and critical livelihood concerns, the message of the Yatra reverberated across the country for five months, drawing out millions of people in curiosity, admiration and support.

While India has seen much bigger campaigns in motorized raths where toxic slogans and discriminatory rhetoric overrode the political message, symbols of this march on foot revolved around love, compassion, equality and justice. Though politics lay dormant beneath the philosophical quest of overpowering fear and hate, the biggest achievement of the Yatra undoubtedly is the restoration of the belief that the RSS-BJP hegemony will face resistance at all levels.

The purpose might not have been overtly political but the outcome is; the Yatra has smashed the notions of the invincibility of the Sangh Parivar. It has given hope and voice to the weaker sections, re-emphasized the vitality of constitutionalism and set the stage for a decisive political battle. The sense of surrender, accentuated more by institutional capitulation, has evaporated. Yes, the mission for peace has prepared the demoralized Opposition for future battles.

Rahul Gandhi too argued at his concluding news conference here on Sunday evening that the Bharat Jodo Yatra wasn’t just a walk but a road map of how India should move forward.

“The walk was a sentiment – listen to people, embrace them. It gave a vision against the hate-filled, arrogant vision of the RSS-BJP. A deeper understanding may emerge. New ideas will come up through this experience.”

Rahul said the political class in India, all political parties, had got disconnected from the masses and all the conversations happened through the media. The distance wasn’t merely physical as the communication channels had their own compulsions and vested interests, vitiating the whole climate of dialogue, Rahul added. “Apart from the disconnect with the people, other gaps have developed. Unbiased communication like earlier is no more possible. Media doesn’t give importance to the Opposition.”

Those who challenged the RSS-BJP were compelled to invent new methods of communication to overcome the bias that had crept into the media and the Bharat Jodo Yatra is one small step towards that, the Congress leader said.

“I am thinking of bigger initiatives,” he said, in response to questions about his future plans and the strategy to sustain the momentum created by the Yatra.

The Yatra will have a deep impact on politics, Rahul said, without elaborating on the outcomes in concrete terms. But he appeared satisfied with the success of the movement in conveying the message to the common people on the streets that the RSS-BJP had crippled the institutional framework of the country, that the shocking economic inequality was a result of wrong policies and intentions, and that India’s real strength lay in pluralism.

Rahul was emphatic that there was no way forward other than following Gandhian tolerance and constitutional morality. “We all are one. We have to respect all castes, all religions. We will be able to move forward only if we embrace each other and move together.”

While he did try to argue during the Yatra that the objectives were not political, he said on Sunday that this arduous struggle, in which millions of people participated, has the potential of triggering a fierce churning in India’s polity.

The most tangible outcome, as could be gathered through informal conversations with leaders and party workers, is the new stature Rahul has acquired within the Congress. While the lingering doubts about his abilities and dedication have disappeared in the rough and tumble of a 3,570km walk, his relationship with the people of India too has evolved during these 135 days. The feeling that a leader who cares, who is willing to fight for the people’s cause with his blood and toil has replaced the perception of an entitled dynast who knows little about the ground reality.

The MP from Wayanad has now put his nose to the grindstone; feeling the pulse of this country with his own hands, understanding the struggle of the people – their joys and sorrows, and making a personal commitment to fight for their welfare. He said on Sunday that he had learnt a lot; after all, the Yatra was not merely a testimony to his physical endurance, it had also nourished his philosophical disposition and psyched him up for bigger battles.

Rahul Gandhi has not only matured; this Yatra has made him a prisoner of his new noble image that will render a dramatic reversal almost impossible. He himself knows that. He declared on Sunday that the walk had ended but the mission would continue.

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