Kolkata: Hitting out at BJP president Amit Shah for his criticism of opposition parties which questioned airstrikes in Pakistan, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) said Sunday that the saffron party leader should refrain from ‘lecturing others’ on patriotism as he is a ‘proponent of divisive and hatred politics’.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should stop taking credit for the airstrikes as the armed forces belong to India, not to Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Shah,” Trinamool Congress (TMC) national spokesperson Derek O’Brien said.
“Amit Shah and the BJP are the nastiest proponents of divisive and hatred politics. We will not listen to his lectures on patriotism. Our armed forces belong to India, not to Modi-Shah’s BJP,” O’Brien, who is also a TMC parliamentary party leader in Rajya Sabha, added.
Those who had cowered down during the Independence movement are giving sermons on patriotism, O’Brien pointed out.
“Khaki-chaddi wearing men who were hiding under desks during the entire Independence movement are now handing out certificates of patriotism. Thanks. But no thanks,” O’Brien stated in an apparent reference to the RSS, the ideological parent of the saffron party.
Shah had said Saturday the ones who did not have the courage to give a befitting response to terrorists and avenge the killing of soldiers, when in power, were raising doubts on the recent airstrike for ‘cheap politics’ and their statements have made Pakistan happy.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier Thursday demanded evidence of the pre-emptive strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed training camps in Pakistan by the Indian Air Force. She also said that the opposition parties wanted to know the details of the operation.
PTI