Member of Parliament and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government on Saturday for its stance on Pakistan and said the neighbouring country should have been answered with bullets. He said before 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Narendra Modi government had made big promises and people had clapped for them but, as it is about to complete five years in power, the government should tell where did its strength go.
“Now it is going to be 5 years of this govt. When you had asked for votes you had promised this and we had clapped for you. Where did that strength go now? Pakistan ke saath humko jo vyavhaar karna chahiye, wo vyavhaar boli ka nahi goli ka karna chahiye,” Raut said.
Raut’s statement came in response to Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s threat to India that his country will ‘avenge the blood of its soldier being shed at the border’. Raut said the manner in which Bajwa threatened, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister should be asked questions.
“The manner in which Pakistan Army Chief has threatened, the PM & Defence Minister should be asked about it. Before election, BJP & the PM had said they will make Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, a part of India. We would like to ask the PM about it,” he added.
Addressing the Defence and Martyrs Day ceremony organised at the Pakistan Army headquarters in Rawalpindi on Thursday, attended by Prime Minister Imran Khan, Bajwa also said Pakistan supported the people in Jammu and Kashmir in their “struggle for the right to self-determination”.
He said the Pakistan Army learnt a lot from the 1965 and 1971 wars with India and has made the country’s defence impregnable by developing nuclear weapons.
“We have learned a lot from the wars of 65 and 71. We were able to further strengthen our defence forces in the wake of these wars. Despite difficult economic times, we were able to become an atomic power,” Bajwa said.