Opposition's 'proof, probe' talk on air strike made Pakistan smile, claims Amit Shah

BJP president Amit Shah Sunday hit out at opposition parties, alleging they "raised doubts" on the courage of the armed forces and their demand for proof of the IAF airstrike brought a "smile on Pakistan's face".

He said these parties should "keep quiet" if they were unable to appreciate what Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the country's armed forces had achieved through the air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot.

Praising the PM's leadership, Shah claimed Modi went about his work routinely even as he thought up a plan to punish the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack on February 14 which killed 40 CRPF personnel.

He claimed Modi made the country understand what "zero tolerance" for terror meant by ordering the surgical strike and air strike.

"Opposition leaders do not know what happened. Mamata di asks for proof. Rahul baba says it is being politicised. Akhilesh asks for a probe. Be ashamed that your statements have brought a smile on Pakistan's face," Shah said.

"Pakistan smiled only after the press conferences of the opposition leaders where they raised questions on the courage of the armed forces," Shah claimed.

"We can understand that you do not have the courage of Modi ji, but if you cannot support and praise what Modi ji and the armed forces did, then at least keep quiet," he said.

"After the Pulwama attack, people said surgical strike was not possible, as army could not go (to bust terror camps). Modiji, while going about his routine work quietly, decided and planned (the counterattack) and our brave air force jawans killed hundreds of terrorists in an air strike and came back safely," he said.

He said with these strikes on terror camps, India has become only the third country in the world after the US and Israel to avenge attacks on its armed forces personnel.

"Now the world accepts that India cannot be taken lightly. The entire world accepts that one cannot tamper with India's borders. The entire world now accepts that it is not easy to touch Indian soldiers. They will get the response for a bullet with a cannon," he said.

Addressing a gathering of PM's Modh Vanik community here, Shah said Modi had come from a humble background and had become the PM of the world's largest democracy.

He said while Modi "does not believe in casteism", the fact remains that he comes from the same community which has made its presence felt across the country through sheer hard work and good behaviour.

Shah said he knew Modi since 1980, when the latter was an unknown political entity to most, and claimed the PM has worked tirelessly to ensure ordinary workers like him (Shah) rose in the party.

"Modi ji does not believe in casteism. Ever since he accepted public life, he always worked to remove the pollution of caste from politics. But it a fact that Modi ji also comes from the same community," he told the gathering.

Shah said the Modi government took several decisions to promote small businesses like waiving GST for firms with a turnover of up to Rs 40 lakh.