There's Been Enough Shameless Politics On Martyrs, Can Politicians Leave Our Soldiers Alone?
India's selfless soldiers send a unique message to all of us. No matter what happens at the border, the country inside must remain united. People should not fight among themselves as the jawans are battling the bigger enemy at the border. Alas, our politicians fail to understand this simple message and indulge into filthiest political slugfest that too at the cost of dignity and integrity of the soldiers.
Soon after Pakistan-backed terrorists attacked attacked CRPF personnel in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, our politicians were back to what they know the best - using martyrdom for political gains. This is despite the fact that all of them unanimously vowed to stay united while the attack was being avenged by the air force.
Amid all the back and forth allegations by the government and the opposition accusing each other of using the recent development between India and Pakistan for garnering votes ahead of the General Elections due in a couple of months.
The opposition has accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP of using the Indian Air Force strike inside Pakistan and the subsequent incidents involving Wing Commander Abhinandan Vardhaman to seek votes.
Top BJP leaders including PM Modi, Amit Shah have repeatedly used the references to Pulwama, Balakot and Abhinandan in their political speeches in the recent days.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa had even claimed that the Indian Air Force Strike inside Pakistan will help the BJP win 22 seats in the state in the upcoming polls.
Now, another BJP leader has come under fire for milking the 'army sentiments' for political gains.
Manoj Tiwari/ Twitter
Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari was on Saturday seen wearing military fatigues as he flagged off a BJP bike rally in the Yamuna Vihar area in his North East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency.
He even recited a poem about Wing Commander Varthaman during the launch of the rally.
?? BJP ?? #BJPVIjaySankalpBikeRally ?? ???????? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ????.. ???? ?? ??????, @narendramodi ?? ???????? ?? ????? ?? ???,#AbhinandanVartaman ?? ????? .. ??? ??? ?? ? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ?????????? @BJP4Delhi pic.twitter.com/23NSQ6uoWi
¡ª Manoj Tiwari (@ManojTiwariMP) March 2, 2019
The move has however come under criticism from various corners. One of the first to hit out was TMC MP Derek O¡¯Brien who called Tiwari ¡°Shameless".
Shameless. Shameless. Shameless. Manoj Tewari BJP MP and Delhi President wearing Armed Forces uniform and seeking votes. BJP-Modi-Shah insulting and politicising our jawans. And then giving lectures on patriotism. Low life
¡ª Derek O'Brien | ????? ?¡¯??????? (@derekobrienmp) March 3, 2019
BJP's Delhi President Manoj Tiwari begging for votes wearing army uniform - Modi and his minions are politicising Indian Army to a very dangerous level. https://t.co/lnuD01BxcB
¡ª Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) March 3, 2019
Because of strong Modi wave in 2014, few undeserving people also reached the Parliament. These people have no connect to masses, no respect for public sentiments and no political sense. Manoj Tiwari is one such man.
¡ª THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) March 3, 2019
Sir @narendramodi, Delhi BJP deserves a better leader.
Dilliwalon open your eyes. BJP Delhi President Manoj Tiwari is such a SHAMELESS person
¡ª Ajay (@Dilliwala001) March 3, 2019
Wearing army uniform to gain votes. #BJP is shameless party politicising martyed jawans#ShameOnBJP #NautankiTiwari #Delhi @BJP4Delhi pic.twitter.com/vNgDeR8aNe
Meanwhile, some Tiwari online defended the former actor saying that he wore a camouflage jacket and not army uniform.
Manoj Tiwari/ Twitter
However, Tiwari himself clarified that it was army fatigues and claimed that he wore it because he felt proud of my Army.
I wore simply because I felt proud of my Army.I am not in Indian army but i was expressing my feeling of solidarity.Why should it be treated like an insult?
¡ª Manoj Tiwari (@ManojTiwariMP) March 3, 2019
I have the highest regard for our Army
By logic tomorrow If I wear a Nehru Jacket will it be an insult to Jawaharlal nehru? https://t.co/MqMXPEqxsu
Earlier, Tiwari had courted controversy after he claimed that on the night of February 26th when the Indian Air Force carried out the air strike inside Pakistan, he was awake until 4.30 am and was praying for the safe return of the pilots after the operations. His claim was however rejected by high level sources in the government which said only seven people including PM Modi, NSA Ajit Doval, three service chiefs and the heads of RAW and IB were in the loop about the operation.
Not only that Tiwari's actions on Saturday were inappropriate, but it was also illegal.
According to the Section 171 in The Indian Penal Code, "Whoever, not belonging to a certain class of public servants, wears any garb or carries any token resembling any garb or token used by that class of public servants, with the intention that it may be believed, or with the knowledge that it is likely to be believed, that he belongs to that class of public servants, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with both."
In January 2016, following the Pathankot Airbase attack where at least six heavily armed people dressed in Indian Army uniforms used it to enter the high security area and carry out the attack the Army had clarified that civilians using Army uniforms or using any other Army equipment is "illegal".
An official spokesperson has then said that civilians should avoid wearing clothes with the Army pattern on it. Additionally, the official had asked private security agencies, police, and other central forces not to wear "combat-pattern" dresses as "it is not authorised and leads to false alarms".
BJP is not alone when it comes to scoring political points over Pulwama terror attack and the Indian Air Force strike in Balakot.
Recently, Karnataka Chief Minister, HD Kumaraswamy had claimed that "celebrating India¡¯s airstrike will cause communal tensions in the country¡±.
BCCL
While speaking at a party meeting in Mysuru, Kumaraswamy had said that the BJP is paving way for communal tensions within the country by celebrating the airstrike by bursting crackers and distributing sweets. He further said that the BJP is alienating the members of one particular community for political gains, which will lead to the loss of innocent lives in the future.
In another speech, Kumaraswamy, the son of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda asked "Why were there no instance of terrorists carrying out blasts or killing anyone when Deve Gowda was the Prime Minister? Why are they happening now? You need to think over it."
One of the first politicians to question the air strikes was Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, a CPIM leader from Kerala.
BCCL/ FILE
Speaking at a party meeting Balakrishnan had claimed that the BJP will use the airstrikes to sabotage the upcoming general elections.
"The BJP government, which fears defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, is trying to polarise communities through war mongering," the CPI(M) state secretary had said.
Firebrand opposition leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had demanded that the government should spell out "details" of the exact place where the air strike was carried out and the casualties inflicted.
"We, as the Opposition, want to know the details of the air strike. Where were the bombs dropped? How many people died? I was reading the New York Times and Washington Post and they said that there were no casualties. Some media houses said one died. We want to know the details," she had said.
BCCL
Congress leader, Digvijaya Singh, too had joined the bandwagon of politicians questions the air strike. On Saturday he had demanded that the Centre should provide evidence of the Indian Air Force¡¯s strike on the JeM camp in Balakot.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and former BJP ally Mehbooba Mufti too had questioned the credibility of the operations.
"As citizens of this country, we have every right to question the credibility of the Balakot operation. Especially due to GoI's ambiguity about the details. How does it help the enemies? Only puts GoI in a tight spot since they want to exploit this to reap electoral benefits," she said.
Isn't it the time when the politicians realise that their tussle with their opponents have nothing to do with the lives and martyrdom of the brave soldiers who subscribe to only one ideology - that is nation above everything else.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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