Jammu, May 24: BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) national executive member and former J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina Saturday hoped that the Leader of Opposition in LokSabha and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would not play politics at a juncture when the country needed to remain united.
He was responding to media queries about the visit of Rahul Gandhi to the border district of Poonch to meet Pak shelling victims.
“It is good that Rahul Gandhiji is visiting the border district of Poonch at a time when our forces have forced Pakistan, which out of its frustration and inability to face our military power, targeted our innocent civilians, to kneel down. But I hope that he (Rahul) will not indulge in politicking yet again. Though he (Rahul) has resorted to it yet I will assert that this is not the right time for doing politics. This is the time to stay united and speak in one voice,” Raina said, in a press conference at J&K BJP headquarters, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu.
Former minister ChoudharyZulfikar Ali; BJP office secretary Tilak Raj Gupta; spokesperson Balbir Ram Rattan and Library in-charge KulbhushanMohtra joined Raina during the press conference.
“I just hope that Rahul will salute our armed forces for the valour and determination they demonstrated in Operation Sindoor. Rahul’s political statements (in the past few days) are ill-timed. He will get ample time for politicking but this is not the time to do so. At this moment, he (Rahul) should stay away from “RajnitikHathkande” (politicking). This is the time of one national policy (Rashtra-Niti) and not politics (Raj-niti),” Raina said.
He advised Rahul to join the nation in celebrating the success of Operation Sindoor in hitting the roots of terrorism, instead of indulging in petty politics and backstabbing the nation.
Former BJP president, though, targetted the Congress saying that the “terrorism and separatism” were the “outcome of its wrong policies.”
“Nevertheless, this is not the time for politics but a united fight against terrorism. Congress should also restrict political activities to election times and support the ongoing TirangaYatra, a movement driven by nationalism,” Raina said.
He accused Rahul Gandhi of questioning the government at a sensitive time and held Congress responsible for fostering terrorism and separatism in the past. He said the nation would never forgive Congress for its betrayal.
“India enjoys friendly ties with almost all countries across the globe, but Islamabad never supported the peace initiatives by India and that is the reason PM Modi taught them what they understood well. Operation Sindoor is just a trailer by our forces and Modi and we are capable of showing them the whole picture,” he reiterated.
He stated that Pakistan was pursuing the path of self-destruction and said, “If (it) Pakistan does not change its policies, it will suffer badly.”
He said that the world witnessed a new doctrine under Prime Minister NarendraModi’s leadership that India would no longer tolerate any act of terrorism. “Operation Sindoor not only delivered a crushing blow to terror infrastructure but also shattered Pakistan’s nuclear myth. Faced with India’s decisive action, Pakistan was left pleading to the international community for peace. PM Modi has also made it clear that now onwards, any act of terror will be taken as an act of war,” Raina said, adding, “India also salutes the bravery and the sacrifice of forces as well as the civilians who were affected or lost their lives.”
He also welcomed the central government’s decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, despite the agreement on a ceasefire.
Former minister ChoudharyZulfikar Ali said that the Modi-government and Indian forces did what was actually needed. To ensure rehabilitation of people badly affected by Pak shelling, he urged the Centre to declare the tragedy in Poonch and other areas as “national disaster.”
He said, “To know the exact extent of damages and to connect with the affected people, the senior BJP leadership is visiting the shelling-affected people. Pakistan’s indiscriminate shelling on civilian areas makes it clear that it has no love for people and only wants the land of J&K. It even hit the religious areas of all religions.”
“Pakistan also adversely hit the livelihood of the innocent civilians by targetting the unsuspecting tourists,” Zulfikar said.
