Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticized the BJP-led government at the center for requesting the Army to publicize its programs on Tuesday and charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using the military’s prestige to gain political advantage before the approaching elections.
He said that the BJP had “hurt” the Indian Army’s honor.
The Congress leader made his comments a day after a report indicated that the current administration was attempting to utilize the Army to publicize its plans.
“Modi ji is promoting himself by taking advantage of the admiration for the valiant warriors of our Indian Army who defend the country. To promote government initiatives, the Modi Government has requested the Army to establish 822 selfie stations around the nation, Kharge stated in a social media post.
The Congress leader attacked the current administration, claiming that the Modi government had done something that had never been done in the previous 75 years by politically using the Army in elections. The remarks appeared to be made in reference to the upcoming Assembly elections in Telangana, Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram. The BJP, which promotes nationalism, has diminished the Indian Army’s standing in society.
“The Indian National Congress is extremely proud of the bravery and sacrifice of the Indian Army,” Kharge said.
Jairam Ramesh, the general secretary of the Congress in charge of communications, requested President Droupadi Murmu to check into the situation earlier on Monday.
“After 9.5 years of failure on all fronts, the (Narendra) Modi administration is now attempting to gain political notoriety via the Army. We kindly want President Draupadi Murmu ji, the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, to step in and instruct the administration to reverse this misguided action, the official added.
The saffron party was often charged by the grand old party with misappropriating the Army’s name for political purposes.
