New Delhi, June 22: The Congress on Friday defended its leader Ghulam Nabi Azad over his remarks on Kashmir which drew fire from the BJP, saying he only expressed concern over increasing civilian deaths and there was nothing wrong in it.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said: "The entire country stands by the armed forces. Azad Saab also repeated this. Restricting civilian casualties to a minimum during military operations is a concern for everybody. What's wrong in it?"
"Terrorists and Maoists should be gunned down, but innocents should not be made the target," he added, asking "Has it become anti-national to express concern for innocent civilians?"
The BJP on Friday attacked the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister for his "irresponsible, shameful and deeply regrettable" statement about "the Indian Army killing more civilians rather than terrorists" during military operations in the state, and demanded action against him.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ahmedabad (PTI): Skipper Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler played useful knocks to help Gujarat Titans chase down defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s modest total, securing a four-wicket win in their Indian Premier League match here on Thursday.
Despite RCB pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/28) tormenting the hosts, opener Gill scored a belligerent 43 off 18 balls, while Buttler smashed 39 off 19 to power Gujarat to their fifth win of the season and take their points tally to 10. They chased down a modest 155 in 15.5 overs for
the loss of six wickets.
Earlier, RCB were dismissed in 19.2 overs with their batters struggling against the bowling attack led by Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj.
RCB, who are placed second on the points table, could not stitch together a fruitful partnership, losing wickets at regular intervals as Siraj (1/38) and Rabada (1/44) reduced them to 35 for 2 in the fourth over, from where they could not recover.
Left-arm pacer Arshad Khan (3/22) took the wickets of RCB skipper Rajat Patidar (19), Krunal Pandya (4) and Venkatesh Iyer (12), while Jason Holder (2/29) and Rashid Khan (2/19) also grabbed two wickets each.
Devdutt Padikkal was the highest run-getter for RCB, scoring 40 off 24 balls.
Brief Scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 155 all out in 19.2 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 40, Virat Kohli 28; Arshad Khan 3/22, Mohammed Siraj 1/38, Kagiso Rabada 1/44, Rashid Khan 2/19, Jason Holder 2/29).
Gujarat Titans 158 for 6 in 15.5 overs (Shubman Gill 43, Jos Buttler 39; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/28, Romario Shepherd 2/30).
