On the third anniversary of the dastardly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, a fresh political war of words broke out. As tributes poured in for soldiers martyred in the attack, the military became a flashpoint on the national political stage.
A day before the anniversary, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao demanded proof of surgical strikes conducted in 2016. He said that there's nothing wrong in Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking evidence of the military operation. Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, KCR said that the former is not a monarch or king.
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In September 2016, the Indian military had announced that it had conducted surgical strikes in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir following a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri.
Rao was responding to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's barb at him. Sarma had attacked Rao for seeking his ouster over a comment made on Rahul Gandhi's parentage. Sarma had said that his Telangana counterpart didn't raise any objections when Gandhi sought proof of surgical strikes.
Rao's comments received fresh backlash from Himanta Sarma. The Assam CM reportedly accused Rao and other Opposition parties of "betraying the Army" in order to "prove loyalty to the Gandhi family".
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to soldiers martyred in the 2019 Pulwama attack. PM Modi said that the soldiers' "bravery and supreme sacrifice motivates every Indian to work towards a strong and prosperous country".
A memorial event was organised in Lethpora to pay tributes to the martyrs. 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force, or CRPF, had lost their lives when a terrorist rammed his explosive-laden car into a CRPF bus. India had conducted an airstrike in Balakot in Pak-Occupied Kashmir following the Pulwama attack.