PM Modi should tell nation how many Rafales were shot down by Pakistan: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy
Hyderabad, May 29 (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding that the PM explain to 140 crore Indians how many Rafale aircraft were shot down by the Pakistani Army during the recent conflict.
Addressing the 'Jai Hind' rally here, Reddy also sought to know why the PM, who had called for an all-party meeting before going to war with Pakistan, did not do so before calling off the armed conflict with the neighbouring country.
He also alleged that Modi failed to separate Balochistan from Pakistan and take control over Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), despite the wishes of 140 crore Indians.
"The soldiers of this (Secunderabad ) Cantonment participated in the war. The war planes being manufactured in Telangana upheld respect for our country. Rafale aircraft brought by Narendra Modi were shot down by Pakistan. There is no discussion on how many Rafales were shot down. Narendra Modi should answer how many Rafael aircraft were shot down by Pakistan during the recent war. You give us the account," he asked the PM.
Firing salvos, Reddy alleged that contracts worth thousands of crores were awarded to people close to Modi, who then purchased Rafale aircraft.
Reddy said senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Meenakshi Natarajan said only one thing that when it comes to national security, irrespective of political lines, everyone should come together and accordingly assured the NDA government that it would stand by it during the fight with Pakistan.
"After four days of war, we do not know who threatened whom and who succumbed to whom. All of a sudden, US President Donald Trump came out and said he threatened India and stopped the war," the CM said.
Mocking the prime minister that war is not giving lectures, Reddy said by stopping the war, Modi pledged the self-respect of 140 crore Indians.
He accused China of encroaching 4000 sq km of Indian territory even as PM Modi failed to give a befitting reply to the neighbour.
Reddy said former PM Indira Gandhi defeated China in 1967 and sent out a message to the world that if anybody messed with India, they would be taught a lesson.
He further said, despite threats by the then US government, Indira Gandhi did not go back on the Indo-Pak war in 1971 and went on creating Bangladesh by separating it from Pakistan.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
