The Congress has alleged that Modi continued to address a rally in Uttarakhand after the incident
Students in Jammu, like many others across the nation, paid tribute to the CRPF jawans who lost their lives in the February 14 attack in J&K
Stepping up its attack on Narendra Modi, the Congress said Friday the prime minister must say what he was doing in the initial two hours after the Pulwama terror strike and alleged that he was either "completely oblivious" to the incident or "insensitive". The opposition also alleged, citing DD News footage, that the prime minister addressed a rally in Uttarakhand at 5:10 pm via phone.
The BJP has dubbed the Congress's allegations as "shameful" and rejected the charges, saying the opposition party exposed its "true colours" after it kept a "facade" of standing with security forces and the government following the terror strike.
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Narendra Modi
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, at a press conference, said the prime minister not only addressed the rally but continued with a photoshoot at the Corbett National Park in the hours following the Pulwama terror strike in which 40 CRPF jawans died after a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the paramilitary force's convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.
"We want to ask the prime minister what was he doing between 3:10-5:10 pm, when you address a public rally in Uttarakhand through mobile phone," Tewari asked. The prime minister addressed the rally and did not speak on Pulwama, he said.
"Either the prime minister was completely oblivious, or the prime minister was insensitive. Either the prime minister did not know for two hours that a terror attack has taken place or the prime minister knew and was completely nonchalant about it," Tewari said.
In both these situations, the prime minister needs to answer for those two hours, he said, adding that both the scenarios do not auger well for the country. "Mr prime minister we will not let you and your government get away by playing with the security of the Indian nation," he said.
He, along with Congress leader Ahmed Patel, accused the government of trying to "package high-octane jingoism to subterfuge national security failures" and said if the prime minister was "incommunicado" hours after the attack then it was matter of grave concern, especially for a nuclear nation.
Act against assault on Kashmiris: SC tells states
The Supreme Court on Friday directed chief secretaries and DGPs of 11 states to take "prompt" and "necessary" action to prevent incidents of threat, social boycott and violence against Kashmiris following the Pulwama terror attack. It also sought responses from the Centre and the states where incidents of threat and violence against Kashmiris have taken place.
BCCI urges cricketing world to isolate Pakistan
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made an appeal in a letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) saying, "Most countries from which the members of the ICC hail have strongly condemned this terrorist attack and expressed solidarity with India. The BCCI urges the cricketing community to sever ties with countries from which terrorism emanates."
IOC suspends India from hosting Olympic events
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday suspended all Indian applications to host future Olympic-related events until New Delhi guarantees in writing the entry of all participants. The IOC measure comes after two Pakistani shooters were denied visas to compete in the ISSF Shooting World Cup, which will start here on Saturday.
Pakistan Army warns India of 'surprise'
The Pakistan Army on Friday said the country does not wish for war, but warned India of "surprise" in case it takes any aggressive military measures, amidst heightened tensions between the two sides. An Army spokesman said, "We are not preparing for war, you (India) are issuing threats...we have right to respond to the threats. We are not preparing to initiate but plan to defend."
FATF keeps Pak in 'grey list' for terror funding
The international terror financing watchdog FATF on Friday decided to continue the grey listing of Pakistan for its failure to stop funding of terrorist groups such as JeM, LeT and JuD. It said Pakistan should continue to work on implementing its action plan to address its strategic deficiencies by first understanding risks posed by the terrorist groups.
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