Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not taken the Pulwama terror attack “as seriously as he should have” and asked “who measured his chest” (a jibe at the Prime Minister’s 56-inch chest comment).
“I am unable to understand who measured his (Modi’s) chest. The Prime Minister did not take this (terror attack) as seriously as he should have. When the news of the terror attack (Pulwama) came out, he (Modi) was in Jim Corbett shooting for a film. He should have immediately left everything and returned to Delhi as this was an emergency.
He should have immediately declared national mourning and called for an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security,” Singh told reporters here on Friday.
“Such a massive convoy was passing through. In every 10-15 kilometres, there is checking done. How was 3.5 quintal of explosives not detected? Centre hasn’t been able to answer these questions yet,” he added.
Recently, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, who was on an official visit to India, had extended support to India in the latter’s fight against terrorism but initially made no mention of the Pulwama terror attack.
In response to this, Digvijaya opined that while on one hand, a person would be termed “anti-national” for suggesting that India continue talks with Pakistan in this day and age, on the other hand, the Saudi Crown Prince made no mention of the terror attack but stated that talks should be held with Pakistan.
“There would be furore in the country if someone mentioned that India should continue dialogue with Pakistan. But the Saudi Crown Prince came to India and mentioned that talks should continue, without mentioning the Pulwama attack. What pressure was Modi under?” he asked.
The Rajya Sabha MP also asserted that the Congress does not politicize terrorism and other matters of national security. “We (Congress) are the worst affected by terrorism,” he said, citing examples of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.
“Jaswant Singh (the then foreign minister) and Ajit Doval (then Intelligence Bureau chief) escorted Masood Azhar to Afghanistan (1999, Kandahar Hijacking incident). It is the same Masood Azhar who is responsible for this,” Digvijaya added.
As many as 40 CRPF personnel were killed in an attack carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14.
