Disrespect of soldiers won't be tolerated, says Assam CM

Taking on the Congress party head-on for the third consecutive day in a spate of attacks for "questioning" the "patriotism" of Armed Forces of the country, especially late General Bipin Rawat, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that the grand old party "spared no effort" to "abuse and accuse" the former Chief of Defence Staff.

Sarma also lashed out at Congress saying that the "disrespect" of the brave soldiers will not be tolerated anymore.

This is the third day of an unsparing attack on the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi for "demanding proof" of the Surgical strike that the Indian Army conducted in September 2016 and the Airstrike that the Indian Airforce conducted in February 2019.

"Congress spared no effort to abuse and accuse General Bipin Rawat. From the day he became Army Chief, they questioned his abilities. But they get irked when I question them for disrespecting our brave soldiers. This is new India. Such attitude won't be tolerated anymore," Sarma tweeted sharing the picture of the media outlets stating the various instances when Congress "questioned the abilities" of General Rawat.

The Assam Chief Minister further hit out at Rahul Gandhi and said "India is not just a union of states. 'Bharat' is our Maa."

"India is not just a union of states. 'Bharat' is our Maa, not just a motherland. Questioning the jawans is an insult to our Maa!" tweeted Sarma.

Sarma drew various political relations for his comments on Gandhi in an election rally in Uttarakhand recently. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao demanded resignation from the Assam Chief Minister for his remark. Besides, CPI leader D Raja also condemned his remark and asked for the Prime Minister's intervention into the matter.

Following the political reactions to his remark, Sarma tweeted, "Is it wrong to stand by our great Armed forces? Let's not question their patriotism. Don't seek proof of what they did for the country."

Sarma on Friday launched a blistering attack on Gandhi for demanding proof of India's surgical strike in Pakistan in 2016 and airstrike in 2019 and asked whether the BJP had ever demanded proof of him being the "son of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi" and added that the Wayanad MP had no right to demand proof from the Army.

( With inputs from ANI )