Modi govt lying on Balakot air strike, shooting down of Pak F-16: Farooq Abdullah
Srinagar: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government of "lying" to the nation on the Balakot air strike and shooting down of a Pakistani F-16 in the aerial dogfight between the IAF and the PAF.
Abdullah, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the Srinagar constituency, said the BJP-led central government carried out the aerial strike as the Prime Minister had "failed" in delivering on his promises made during the last general elections in the country.
"He (Modi) had promised that Rs 15 lakh will be put in your accounts, did you get Rs 15 lakh? When he failed in all these things, his head was hanging whenever I used to see him in Parliament during the last few days as he realised that his power is gone.
"At that time, some MPs would say that he would do something...Attack Pakistan so that everyone feels that Hanuman ji has come. What did he do? For a few seconds, he sent three planes to the border which is known as Balakot and dropped bombs there," Abdullah said addressing an election rally in the Fakir Gujri area here Friday.
The former chief minister said the government claimed that a number of terrorists were killed but there is no clarity.
"Some people said 500 were killed and some others even said 700 were killed. Here if one person is killed, the whole world comes to know. Would no one know if 300 were killed?" he asked.
On the report in a US journal that the US count claims no F-16 jet was shot down by IAF's MiG-21 Bison, Abdullah asked the prime minister why he was "lying" to the people of the country.
"He (Modi) said we shot down their (Pakistani) fighter plane F-16. Now, the US has come up saying all the Pakistani F-16s are counted. Not one has been shot down. There must be some basis for even lies, Modi ji. How long will you lie to people. And did you win (the battle)? Has Pakistan disappeared? Why are you lying? Do you think the Hindus will buy into all this?" he said.
Hoping that the BJP will not return to power at the Centre, Abdullah said whichever party comes to power "they will definitely talk to Pakistan and Jammu & Kashmir will be the first priority".
"We can't bear living like this ...That deaths take place everyday," he said.
About the government's decision to ban public traffic on Jammu and Srinagar highway two days every week, Abdullah said the road was not even closed during Kargil war.
"Are we at war today that the government has closed the highway for two days a week? Are we slaves? Is Jammu and Kashmir a colony? We were never slaves and will never be. We have said goodbye to kings in 1947. Don't threaten us, you are not our god," he said.
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Bihar has 'failed' on all parameters during 21 years of NDA rule: Tejashwi
Patna (PTI): Launching a frontal attack on the Bihar government, RJD's national working president, Tejashwi Yadav, on Thursday, alleged that the state has "failed" on all parameters during the 21 years of NDA rule.
His remarks came four days ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls in Bihar on March 16. Six candidates—five from the ruling NDA and one from the RJD are in the fray for five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar.
In a post on X on Thursday, Yadav wrote, "The NDA government failed on all parameters despite years of a double-engine government. Bihar continues to rank at the bottom of most development indicators even after 21 years of NDA rule."
"Bihar is a unique state where the NDA's double-engine government has been in power for decades, yet the state still performs poorly across several socio-economic indicators. Bihar is the poorest state in the country, has the highest migration, the highest levels of crime and corruption, the highest unemployment, the highest level of multidimensional poverty and highest school dropout rate in the country, lowest literacy rate in the country, and the state has the lowest per capita income in the country," he wrote.
He further claimed that Bihar is the state where farmers' income is lowest in the country, lowest per capita consumption in the country, lowest computer literacy in the country, lowest electricity consumption in the country, lowest basic infrastructure in the country, lowest quality education in the country and the lowest industrial units in the country.
Yadav, who is also Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, said the state is lagging in almost every development indicator. He accused the government of avoiding accountability while running the administration through bureaucratic control, state resources and caste politics.
Ironically, despite being lowest on all development parameters, Bihar is leading in buying expensive gas, leading in buying expensive electricity, leading in buying expensive petrol-diesel, and here buying property is more expensive than in Delhi and Mumbai, he alleged.
State BJP spokesperson, Neeraj Kumar, refuted the charges levelled by Yadav and told PTI, "RJD leader should have compared the current situation in Bihar with the period between 1990 and 2005 when the state was governed by Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi. The condition improved only after the NDA government led by Nitish Kumar came to power in 2005."
