Mumbai: Speakers coax public to demand answers on Pulwama and Balakot

It was raining question marks and doubts with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and team Bharatiya Janta Party BJP accused of not coming clean on the Pulwama terror attack and the Balakot surgical strikes at a twohour press conference held by Bharat Bachao Andolan at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh at Azad Maidan on Tuesday afternoonSaying it straight that our soldiers lives have been sacrificed on the altar of political opportunism the speakers coaxed the public to pose questions and demand answersFeroze MithiborwalaInvestigations neededFeroze Mithiborwala of the Bharat Bachao Andolan began with slides aiding his presentation Mithiborwala read out various political statements questioning Modi on the Pulwama attack He first cited West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjees statement asking where was Modi when the attack took place He added that Banerjee has been quoted as saying Why were the jawans not airlifted Why were the troopers left to die is it because you wanted to politicise the matter before the elections He added that Banerjee had asked the right questionThe speaker also said that they all stood by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS Chief Raj Thackerays statement If National Security Advisor NSA Ajit Doval is investigated about the Pulwama attack then the truth will come outMedia bashedMithiborwala showed stills of contrary reports and said that the media has been quoting government sources instead of its own investigation He said the media was regurgitating what is fed to them He also questioned if as reported Our forces were given a free hand to retaliate post Pulwama then why are they not free to say how many were killed in the Balakot air strikes Mithiborwala said the atmosphere today is to demonise all those who question the government It is similar to the atmosphere during Hitlers reign We know that we may die for saying this said the activistNeed answersSpeaker M A Khalid said questions are the lifeblood of a democracy Speaker Ravi Bhilane said those in business partnerships with Pakistan need to stop that now to show their true nationalism Bhilane also cleaved into Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS honcho Mohan Bhagwat Bhagwat has said that the organisation could make an army in three days and they could go to the front Bhilane said Instead of talking Bhagwat should send an army on our borders Prepare it in three days and send the men let us see how he does soActivist Jyoti Badekar slammed a section as chamcha media Modis lackey media and said the government must release figures of those killed in the surgical strike If I am termed a criminal for asking so be it I am a criminal Lastly comrade Charul Joshi Communist ideologue said Isnt it strange that the President of India who is the head of the armed forces is yet to speak on this matter Apt perhaps that this Bharat Bachao Andolan conference Pulwama and Balakot some questions some facts ended with a question and underlined the panels philosophy Sawal uthao BJP hataoCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates