Even Pakistan Doesn't Talk About What it Does, Says Gehlot About Surgical Strikes

Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday mocked the Narendra Modi government for boasting about a surgical strike across the Line of Control, saying even Pakistan didn't talk about its own actions.

Gehlot claimed that except a handful of ministers, the NDA government was made up of first-timers. They boasted about the surgical strike because they lacked experience.

Surgical strikes have been conducted in the tenure of every prime minister but they were never talked about. There were several things that Pakistan also did, but the nation never talk about it," Gehlot said.

At the same press conference, Gehlot triggered a controversy by suggesting that Ram Nath Kovind became President because he was a Dalit.

The Indian Army had conducted a surgical strike across against several terror launch pads across the LoC in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in September 2016, 10 days after a terror attack at an Army camp in Uri in which 19 soldiers had been killed.

In February, the Indian Air Force struck at a terror camp in Balakot after a terrorist attack in Pulwama, which left 40 CRPF personnel dead.

Gehlot called the Modi-led BJP government a "government of rhetoric" and claimed its exit was imminent after the Lok Sabha election. He said the BJP's "rhetoric" would sink the Modi government.

"Rhetoric would be one reason and the other would be the weakening of constitutional institutions. People have gradually understood that it is a government of rhetoric," Gehlot said at a press conference.

"Modiji did not give good governance and now his government's farewell is imminent. People will see that they will be wiped out in the upcoming elections," he added.

Replying to an allegation against Union minister and BJP's nominee from Jodhpur Gajendra Singh Shekhawat threatening government officials during electioneering, Gehlot said he did not expect this from him.

Now, the people in the country would hang their government at the Centre upside down, he said.

Shekhwat had allegedly threatened government officials for filming vehicles used in his campaign during his election meeting in Pokhran on Sunday. The officials had been filming vehicles to estimate Shekhawat's poll expenditure.

"This is not the last election. I have details of all officials. The government would change after five years. I would hang all of them upside down then," Shekhawat had purportedly said. A complaint was lodged later against him with the district election officer.