New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS): The main Opposition party Congress on Tuesday came down heavily against the Centre's decision to ask the Indian military to set up 822 selfie points in nine cities for promoting the BJP Government’s welfare schemes, accusing it of misusing the Defence forces' popularity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's publicity.

In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that Modi is indulging in self-publicity by using the popularity of soldiers.

"By using the Defence forces for political gains, the Modi government has done something which has never happened in the last 75 years. By asking the armed forces and even DRDO as well as the Border Road Organisation to set up selfie points which will have the prime minister's picture and publicity of his schemes, rather than displaying the tales of valour of our soldiers, is something which has never happened earlier," Kharge posted on X.

“By doing so, the BJP has hurt the dignity of the armed forces,” he added.