Congress should be ashamed: Pralhad Joshi on posters featuring Gen Rawat in Uttarakhand
Dec 16, 2021
New Delhi [India], December 16 : Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday slammed Congress over posters featuring photos of the former Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat that have been put up in Uttrakhand, stating that the party should be "ashamed" of using the name of the late army man for electoral gains in the upcoming Assembly polls.
"Congress party does not have any issue, hence they are only doing drama. They are now using General Bipin Rawat's poster in rallies for political benefits in Uttarakhand. Congress should be ashamed for this," the minister said.
Huge cut-outs of General Rawat, who died in a chopper crash earlier this month, was put up in Uttarakhand for Rahul Gandhi's rally in Dehradun ahead of Assembly elections in the state next year.
India's first Chief of Defence Staff and longest-serving four-star officer General Rawat, who hails from Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand, died in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8 along with 13 others including his wife Madhulika Rawat.
The posters have drawn flak from BJP leaders including Amit Malviya, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga and Shehzad Jai Hind.
Responding to a statement by Rahul Gandhi on India defeating Pakistan in just 13 days in the 1971 war as the country was united, Joshi said, "Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi don't know anything about India's history. Rahul Gandhi is an immature part-time politician. The Prime Minister talked about the martyred soldiers in the 1971 war. Is it necessary to talk about politicians at all events?"
Meanwhile, posters countering those put up by the Congress have also cropped up in the state, questioning the Congress party's "new found respect for Gen Rawat."
These posters show photographs of a younger Rahul Gandhi with party colleague Sandeep Dixit alongside a picture of a media report from 2017 titled, "Congress leader Sandeep Dixit called Army Chief 'roadside goon'." Some posters feature a photograph of Rahul Gandhi with party leader Kanhaiya Kumar with text, "Will those who called Army as rapist honour the soldiers?" (roughly translated from Hindi).
