'Opposition’s habit is to insult the bravery of jawans', Anurag Thakur tears into Channi

New Delhi, May 6 Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, on Monday took strong objection to Congress leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s remarks on the Poonch terror strike, and called it "disgusting and shameful".

The minister, who also holds the Sports and Youth Affairs portfolio, said the Congress has made it a habit to insult the bravery of the jawans and lower the morale of the armymen by questioning their ability to strike down terrorists.

“The Congress never stood with the armed forces. It always pointed fingers at them and demanded proof of many operations, including the surgical strike, Balakot airstrike, and Doklam. Insulting the bravery of our jawans has become its habit,” said Anurag Thakur, replying to Channi’s charge that the terror strike in J&K's Poonch on Saturday was BJP’s ‘poll stunt’.

The Union Minister also enumerated many high-profile corruption cases in the defence sector during the Congress rule, including the Bofors and AgustaWestland scams.

Accused the Congress of building a public discourse around giving up nuclear weapons, Anurag Thakur said, “Has it joined forces with foreign powers? Why is the party stooping so low during the election season?"

He also gave dressing down to National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah for his "Pakistan not wearing bangles" remark, saying, "No matter how much the INDIA bloc leaders sing paeans for Pakistan, today’s reality is that the Indian Army is eliminating its enemies in their territory... It doesn’t shy away from breaching the nation’s frontiers."

"These are the same people who said that abrogation of Article 370 will lead to a bloodbath in the Valley. But, after the Modi government revoked it, a new dawn has emerged in the Valley, offering multifarious growth opportunities.

“The stone-pelters have disappeared, separatism and terrorism have suffered a jolt, while fatalities due to terror incidents have seen a sharp drop by more than 50-80 per cent. Today, the Valley is bustling with a huge tourist influx. More than two crore tourists are visiting the Valley,” Anurag Thakur said.

The Minister also highlighted that the organised loot by certain families in the Valley is over now and today, a flourishing and vibrant democracy has made life easier and happier for every Kashmiri.

Source: IANS