Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (PTI photo)
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of “whitewashing terrorism” by referring to it as an “act of tragedy”.“Today, Rahul Gandhi stated that what happened in Poonch was a tragedy. He is calling an act of terror an act of tragedy. Our innocent civilians were attacked by Pakistan army, which has a terrorist mentality...Gurudwaras and schools were attacked. Children lost their lives. And Rahul Gandhi is whitewashing this,” BJP’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.Blaming the Gandhi family for “giving cover fire” to Pakistan’s criminal actions, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s statement amounted to “direct cooperation with Pakistan.”“Although this is not surprising because Congress has whitewashed Pakistan’s terrorism multiple times… Rahul Gandhi and his family have always given a cover fire to Pakistan’s criminal actions… Rahul Gandhi should stop his comedy by calling it a tragedy… This is neither an experiment nor a coincidence; it is Rahul Gandhi’s direct cooperation with Pakistan,” Poonawalla was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.Rahul Gandhi, who is also the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, on Saturday visited civilian areas in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district that were affected by cross-border shelling from Pakistan. During his visit, the Congress MP met with residents and families who had lost loved ones in the attack. He also assured them that he would raise their concerns at the national level.
Congress leader and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi interacts with students during a visit to a school, in Poonch, J&K. (PTI)
“It was a big tragedy, and many people have lost their lives. There has been huge damage. I spoke with the people and tried to understand their problems. They have requested me to raise this issue on the national level, and I will do that,” said the Rae Bareli MP. He also said that the people of Poonch display great strength and dignity amid recurring conflict.
