Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai (SP)

Mumbai, Apr 23: Maharashtra minister, Pankaja Munde, commented on Sunday April 21 that a bomb should be strapped to the back of All India Congress Committee president, Rahul Gandhi and he should be sent to another country to investigate the airstrikes by Indian security forces at Balakot. She was angry at the repeated questions raised by other parties, particularly Congress leaders, seeking proof about the army's action in Balakot.

When Pankaja made this statement at Jalna, chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis and BJP state president, Raosaheb Danve, who is the BJP's candidate from Jalna constituency, were present.

Munde said that Indian security forces conducted surgical strikes in response to Pakistan's attack on Indian soldiers. Angry at the opposition for seeking proof of the strikes, she said Rahul Gandhi should have been sent to another country with the help of a bomb tied to his body. "They would have realized the truth about the strike in such a scenario," she said. The air strike in the fag end of February this year had come a few days after the killing of 40 security personnel at Pulwama by a suicide bomber owing allegiance to Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Congress spokesperson, Sachin Sawant, condemning Munde's comment, said that this represents the cheap thought process of BJP leaders. He said it is not surprising that such statements are coming out of BJP leaders. He stated that BJP leaders, who had dubbed a martyr, obviously referring to Anti Terrorist Squad chief, Hemant Karkare, an anti-national, can go to any extent. It may be recalled that BJP candidate from Bhopal, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, had claimed a few days back that Karkare, who investigated the Malegaon blast case and reportedly tortured her in captivity, had died on account of her curse.