Sambit Patra slams Congress, says ‘Jai Hind Yatra more like Jai Pakistan Yatra'

Hindustan Times

a day ago

BJP on Friday lashed out at the Congress for its leaders' questions and jibes at the government following the conflict with Pakistan, and alleged that the opposition party's ongoing 'Jai Hind Yatra' looks more like "Jai Pakistan Yatra".
BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra told PTI reporters that senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, have often asked about the number of aircraft India lost in the conflict, and accused Jairam Ramesh of equating MPs travelling abroad as members of all-party delegations with terrorists.
Gandhi never asked about the details of terror sites and air bases destroyed in Pakistan but his party has enquired about the losses of Indian jets more frequently than the neighbouring country, he said.
These leaders are like "babbar" (warrior) of Pakistan, he said, adding that they are gabbar of India, invoking the villain of iconic film Sholay, and added they will meet the same fate as the bandit did in the hands of heroes Jai and Veeru.
"Gabbar's defeat is certain due to India's jai (glory) and veerta (valour)." He noted that even Congress MPs are part of the seven all-party delegations currently on a visit to world capitals to put across India's stand following the Pahalgam terror attack and its punitive strikes against Pakistan.
These Congress MPs are doing a good job as the delegations are strongly projecting India's stand but Ramesh in one breath is comparing them to terrorists, he said.
The Congress chief spokesperson had said on Thursday that the terrorists behind the Pahalgam attack are roaming and so are these MPs abroad.
Patra cited controversial statements of a number of Congress leaders, including some questioning military conflict with Pakistan and the suspension of Indus Water Treaty, since after the Pahalgam attack. He said the opposition party might have claimed that it is with the government on the issue but it is lowering the morale of armed forces from the very beginning.
The Congress should suspend its Jai Hind Yatra, which is more like Jai Pakistan Yatra, and instead consult with Pakistan and hold a joint press conference, he said, claiming that Gandhi has been quoted frequently in Pakistan. With the Congress increasingly turning caustic at its MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading the multi-party delegation to the US and four other countries, for his stout defence of the government's actions, Patra said the party is divided into two factions.
One supports Pakistan, he alleged, while another include those who want to raise their voice for India but cannot due to leaders like Gandhi. He noted that another Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is a member of one of the delegarions, had spoken about the changes brought by the revocation of Article 370, and said somebody should relay the former Union minister's remarks to Gandhi.
During the Congress-led UPA rule, terrorists were invited to the Prime Minister's Office at the behest of the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he claimed and referred to reports that she had cried over the killing of some young terrorists in the Batla House encounter. Patra also referred to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's comments that India's Brahmos missiles hit his country's military facilities ahead of the planned attack on Indian targets to emphasise on the damages inflicted on the neighbouring country. "Gandhi should listen to his friend Sharif," he said.
Patra quoted the opinion of US-based military expert John Spencer, which has been reported widely in the Indian media, that India won the tech war in the conflict while Pakistan lost as China's proxy.
He said Spencer was not alone as many experts have spoken about India's decisive victory but some opposition parties, especially the Congress, have been trying to lower the country's morale.
Criticising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her choice of words in slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who at a rally in the state had hit out at her government, he said Modi is everyone's "sewak". It is beyond any doubt that she was sheltering infiltrators and Rohingyas, he added.