PM Modi plays nationalism card, surgical strike 'debuts' in Karnataka elections

To woo voters in Karnataka ahead of high-stake assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday played the nationalism card even as he accused the Congress of "insulting national heroes" and the Indian Army after the 2016 surgical strike.

Prime minister Narendra Modi addresses an election campaign rally in Karnataka polls. PTI Photo (File)

NEW DELHI: To woo voters in Karnataka ahead of high-stake assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday played the nationalism card even as he accused the Congress of "insulting national heroes" and the Indian Army after the 2016 surgical strike. Raking up the issue of cross-LoC surgical strikes of September 2016, Modi claimed the Congress questioned the authenticity of the Army's operation. "They (Congress) sought proof about the genuineness of the surgical strike. Bodies of Pakistani soldiers were carried on trucks, a newspaper said that...and they need proof. Should our soldiers go on such operations with a camera or a gun?" PTI quoted Modi as saying. Calling the Congress as a party of a family, Modi said it "insults" national heroes. "Forgetting the national heroes, patriots and history is the nature of a family in the Congress. (Jawaharlal) Nehru and V K Krishna Menon insulted General (KS) Thimayya, who had to resign. They neglected General (K M) Cariappa," he said. General KS Thimayya and General KM Cariappa, both legends of the Indian Army, belonged to Karnataka. Modi invoked their names to connect with the voters. Talking about Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Modi said the independent India's first home minister, was instrumental in forcing the Nizam of Hyderabad, who controlled the region where Kalaburagi is located, to accede to the country. He also said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi "disrespected" the national song 'vande mataram'.