If Indira Gandhi can get credit for dividing Pak, why shouldn't PM get credit for Balakot: Rajnath

The presence of the top BJP-led NDA brass at the event is being seen by observers as a show of support for Shah and an acknowledgement of him being the second most powerful leader in the alliance after Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the airstrikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan, which reportedly claimed the lives of 300 terrorists. Speaking at party’s mega event in Gandhinagar, Rajnath said “If Indira Gandhi can get credit for dividing Pakistan, why shouldn't PM Narendra Modi get credit for Balakot strike”. "It was the bravery of our forces that they divided Pakistan into two parts. One remained Pakistan, while Bangaldesh was formed (out of the other)," he said. "After the war, our leader A B Vajpayee praised Indira Gandhi in Parliament. She was also praised all over the country," Singh added. Referring to the Pulwama attack, the home minister said, "When our 40-42 CRPF soldiers lost their lives in a fidayeen attack, Modiji gave a free hand to our forces." "If Indira Gandhi can get the credit of dividing Pakistan in 1971, why shouldn't Modiji get the credit for what he has done in Balakot," Rajnath asked. The statement was made in the presence of various allies of the party and senior party leaders like Uddhav Thackeray, Parkash Singh Badal, Nitin Gadkari for a mega road show for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The event will be followed by filing of nomination by party Chief Amit Shah. The presence of the top BJP-led NDA brass at the event is being seen by observers as a show of support for Shah and an acknowledgement of him being the second most powerful leader in the alliance after Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shah is replacing BJP veteran L K Advani, who had been winning uninterrupted from Gandhinagar since 1998, from the prestigious constituency. Balakot Air strikes: The Air Strikes by Indian Airforce, which killed 300 terrorists in Balakot in Pakistan, came as retaliation to deadly Pulwama attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir on February 2014, which claimed the lives of 40 Indian soldiers. The attack took place when a car heavy loaded with explosives rammed into a bus, on which CRPF soldiers were travelling.