Ahead of the Gujarat assembly polls, former Congress leader and ex-Gujarat CM Shankersinh Vaghela courted controversy after he raised aspersions on the Balakot airstrikes, carried out by the Indian Armed Forces following the Pulwama terror attack in February 2019.
In his interview with far-left propaganda website The Wire’s Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Vaghela not only raised questions on the Balakot airstrikes but also insinuated foul play in the death of CDS General Bipin Rawat, who died in a helicopter crash in December 2021.
The former Gujarat CM also implied that the Pulwama terror attack was a false-flag operation, questioning why the CRPF cordon was not airlifted from Jammu.
When asked about the thumping majority the Modi government received in consecutive Lok Sabha elections, Vaghela said, “Pulwama and polarisation played its part. Surgical strikes after Pulwama attack…Surgical strikes are not to be marketed. Who marketed it? They said 200-250 were killed, but who counted them? How many families were destroyed in Pakistan? Not a single Pakistani mother cried whose son died in the airstrike.”
Vaghela further added that he had a friend in Pakistan who informed him that the airstrikes had damaged a few houses and injured one. “Tell me how many people were killed? Who counted the dead bodies of 250 people? Why did nobody cry in Pakistan?” Vaghela asked.
The former Congress leader raised aspersions on the death of CDS General Bipin Rawat, insinuating foul play in the helicopter crash that led to his death. “How did General’s helicopter crash? Who crashed it?” Vaghela asked.
Insinuating that the Pulwama terror attack was an insider job, Vaghela said, “Who killed the CRPF jawans in Pulwama? Not a dog can interfere in Army’s flag march. The soldiers were supposed to be airlifted from Jammu, why did it not happen? As per my information, a Gujarat-registered Maruti 800 car laden with 200 kg RDX rammed into a CRPF convoy. Who were the terrorists? Why details were not revealed? Later they linked it to Pulwama.”
“People were killed in the Akshardham temple attack. Who killed them? Who were the terrorists? Who brought them here?” asked Vaghela, insinuating the government’s role in the attack.
Shankersinh Vaghela hails gangster Abdul Latif
Earlier last week, Vaghela, who had a long association with the Congress party but resigned from the party last year, said that infamous gangster Abdul Latif was quite popular among people and was generous towards them.
“He was a don but a kind-hearted one. He was very generous and popular and helped people here. That’s why he won elections from wherever he stood,” Vaghela emphasised in his interview with ABP News.
