Congress has no respect for Sardar Patel or soldiers: Modi
Kalaburagi, May 3: Lauding Sardar Patel for forcing the Nizam of Hyderabad to merge his princely state with an Independent India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday regretted that the Congress has no respect for the country's "Iron Man" or its soldiers who guard its borders.
"As part of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, Kalaburagi has a special place in Patel's life, as he forced its erstwhile ruler to merge his kingdom with a free India in September 1948," recalled Modi at a massive BJP election rally here ahead of the May 12 state polls.
Comparing Nizam's atrocities with the British Col. Reginald Dyer's role on April 13, 1919, in Jallianwala Bagh massacre at Punjab's Amritsar, Modi applauded local people for erecting a memorial for the martyrs.
"This (memorial) was something the Congress could have done but did not as they disliked anything to do with Patel," he claimed.
Accusing the Congress of insulting soldiers who conducted surgical strikes across the western border in Pakistan in September 2016, the Prime Minister said its leaders asked for its proof rather than hailing them for their bravery.
"The Congress has no respect for the sacrifices of our soldiers. When our soldiers did surgical strikes, its shameless leaders questioned it by asking for proof of their brave act. They prefer our soldiers going to war with cameras instead of guns," said Modi.
Calling Karnataka a "land of valour", Modi regretted that the Congress had also ill-treated Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa and General K.S. Thimayya, who hailed from the state's Kodagu region.
"The Congress had not only ill-treated Cariappa but its Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru also kept insulting Thimayya," lamented Modi.
Cariappa (1899-1993) was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Army and was conferred the Field Marshal rank on April 1986. He was also a recipient of the Order of the British Empire for his role in the Burma campaign against the Japanese during the Second World War (1939-1945).
Cariappa also led the forces on the western front during the 1947 Indo-Pak war. He is the first of the two officers to hold the five-star rank of Field Marshal, the other being Sam Manekshaw (1914-2008).
Thimayya (1906-65), a 1954 Padma Bhushan awardee, was Chief of Army Staff from 1957 to 1961.
The Prime Minister said he was not surprised by the Congress disrespect to the soldiers and the country, as evident from its own leader sitting on the dais when the national song "Vande Mataram" was sung recently.
Modi was alluding to a video footage showing Congress President Rahul Gandhi seated on the stage at a public rally on April 27 at Bantwal in the state's coastal region when the song was sung by a group of party cadres and reportedly gestured them to stop the rendering after the first line.
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Pak police registers case against unidentified gunmen for opening fire on LeT co-founder
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Lahore (PTI): Pakistan's Punjab Police on Friday registered a case against unidentified gunmen for opening fire on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) co-founder Amir Hamza, who suffered bullet injuries in the attack in Lahore.
On Thursday, two unidentified gunmen riding on a bike opened fire on the vehicle of the private TV channel 24NewsHD TV, owned by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, on Peco Road in Lahore near the TV channel's office.
In the attack, Hamza suffered bullet injuries.
"The FIR has been registered against unidentified gunmen, but it is sealed forthwith," a senior police officer told PTI.
He said the intelligence agencies have taken over this case from the police, and they are currently investigating the matter.
The channel's religious programme host Justice (retd.) Nazir Ahmed Ghazi and Hamza were in the vehicle when it was attacked. Hamza was shifted to a hospital for treatment.
Punjab police on Friday said that "upon receiving information about the incident, the SSP Operations immediately reached the scene and a high alert was imposed in the area. SSP Operations Tauqeer Naeem also met the affected individuals. Thankfully, all present in the vehicle remained safe during the firing."
It further said senior police officers of the Township and Chung, along with a heavy police contingent, were present at the scene.
"Police collected evidence from the site and initiated an investigation. Efforts to arrest the suspects are underway using CCTV footage and geo-fencing techniques. Search and sweep operations are being conducted at various locations, with scrutiny of suspicious individuals ongoing," police said.
It added that those involved in the incident will be traced and arrested soon.
The police sources said that Hamza has been shifted to his residence in Jauhar Town, Lahore, where police and agency personnel met him.
The leadership of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a political front of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's banned Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD), including Hafiz Saeed's son Hafiz Talha Saeed, also called on him.
TV host retired Justice Ghazi, who remained unhurt in the attack, remained a legal counsel for Hafiz Saeed, they said.
The PMML has strongly condemned the attack on Hamza and demanded that those involved in the incident be arrested immediately.
Hamza is regarded as LeT's second most important leader after its chief Hafiz Saeed, who has been in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail since 2019 after getting convicted for several years in terror financing cases.
Hamza has been designated as a terrorist by the US. In the past, he served as the head of LeT's "special campaigns" department.
In 2018, Hamza formed a fundraising group for the LeT following a ban on the JuD and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation by the Pakistani government.
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