Agra, Feb 5 (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday for raising questions on the valour and courage of Indian soldiers.
Mr Gandhi recently said in Parliament that the number of casualties on the Indian side was higher compared to the Chinese side in a conflict involving the soldiers of the two countries in Ladakh’s Galwan valley.
Referring to a recent report in an Australian newspaper that claimed that 38-50 Chinese soldiers were killed in the Galwan valley conflict, Mr Singh said, “Rahul Gandhi believes in the newspapers of China and raises questions on the courage and valour of Indian soldiers. It hurts when he misleads the people of the country from Parliament.” The defence minister addressed two rallies here in support of the BJP candidates in the Kheragarh and Agra Rural constituencies ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
Addressing a rally at Kundol in the Agra Rural constituency, he slammed the Congress, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), alleging that these parties are only after power, whereas the BJP’s aim is nation building.
The image of the country has improved on international platforms under the saffron party’s rule, Mr Singh said, adding that till 2014, nobody took an Indian leader seriously in an international forum, “but now, the whole world listens when India says something”.
“We have given a clear message to the world that India is not weak anymore. It is now capable of giving a befitting reply to its enemies inside the border or outside.
“I would like to remind everyone how our soldiers had given befitting replies after the Uri and Pulwama attacks by carrying out a surgical strike and air strikes in the territory of Pakistan,” he said.
Hitting out at the SP, the defence minister said during the party’s rule in Uttar Pradesh, the spirits of the goons were high and even the political circles were dominated by them.
“Under the BJP’s rule, that has changed completely,” he added.
Lauding Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Mr Singh said, “In the last five years, the economy of the state has come up to occupy the second position in the country. In the next five years, it will bag the top spot.” He praised Adityanath’s efforts on the law-and-order front and said gangsters are being put behind bars now.
“Every household would get tap water under the Har Ghar Nal scheme. Poor families have got treatment under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. We are also planning to bring the middle-class families under the ambit of the scheme,” the senior BJP leader said.