On Sunday (5th May), Congress leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi stoked a fresh controversy after he alleged that the recent terror attack on an Indian Air Force (IAF) convoy was a pre-election stunt by the BJP. Notably, the terror attack on an IAF convoy unfolded yesterday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district and the security forces are carrying out a manhunt to neutralise the terrorists.
Claiming that these are not terror attacks, the Congress leader described it as “Stuntbaazi” alleging that the BJP orchestrated such incidents to sway elections. He further alleged that such attacks are premeditated and executed to bolster the electoral prospects of the BJP.
Speaking with reporters in Jalandhar, Punjab, Channi said, “This is stuntbaazi. When elections come, such stunts are done to make the BJP win. These are pre-planned attacks, there is no truth in them…”
#WATCH | Jalandhar, Punjab: On the attack by terrorists on the Indian Air Force vehicle in J&K's Poonch yesterday, Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi says, "This is stuntbaazi. When elections come, such stunts are done to make the BJP win. These are pre-planned attacks, there… pic.twitter.com/5PGNPKq6rA
— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2024
Similar attacks happened during the last general elections, Channi added, in an apparent reference to the falsehoods and opposition propaganda that the BJP conspired Pulwama terrorist attack to win elections in 2019. He went further to allege that the BJP knows how to kill people and then play politics on these killings.
Additionally, the Former Punjab CM also alleged that the BJP wants to crush farmers to crush Punjab.
It is pertinent to note that Channi’s remarks are in stark contrast to those of Congress President Malikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.
Yesterday, Kharge condemned the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district and extended condolences over the death of one IAF personnel who lost his life in the attack.
Taking to X, Kharge wrote, “Deeply pained by the cowardly terror attack on the IAF vehicle in Poonch, Jammu & Kashmir. We strongly and unequivocally condemn this dastardly terror attack and join the nation in standing together against terrorism.”
Deeply pained by the cowardly terror attack on the IAF vehicle in Poonch, Jammu & Kashmir.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) May 4, 2024
We strongly and unequivocally condemn this dastardly terror attack and join the nation in standing together against terrorism.
Our deepest condolences to the family of the brave air…
Condemning the terrorist attack, Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “The cowardly terrorist attack on our Army convoy in Poonch of Jammu and Kashmir is extremely shameful and sad. I pay my humble tribute to the martyred soldier and express my condolences to his bereaved family. I hope that the soldiers injured in the attack recover as soon as possible.”
जम्मू कश्मीर के पुंछ में हमारी सेना के काफिले पर कायराना और दुस्साहसी आतंकी हमला बहुत ही शर्मनाक है, दुखद है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 4, 2024
शहीद जवान को मैं अपनी विनम्र श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करता हूं और उनके शोकसंतप्त परिजनों को संवेदनाएं व्यक्त करता हूं। हमले में घायल जवानों के जल्द से जल्द स्वस्थ होने की आशा…
The terror attack on the IAF convoy
On Saturday evening (4th May), terrorists ambushed the convoy of the Indian Air Force at Sanai village in Surankote in Poonch district. One IAF personnel lost his life while four sustained injuries in the attack. According to the officials, one of the four personnel who were injured in the attack is said to be in critical condition, while the remaining three are stable.
Meanwhile, the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police have launched a joint operation and are carrying out a massive search and cordon operation to locate the terrorists involved in the attack. As per reports, terrorists are believed to have fled into a forest after the attack.
Pulwama terror attack
On February 14, 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel to Srinagar via National Highway 44 came under a suicide bombing attack in Pulwama. 22-year-old Adil Ahmad Dar, a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist from Kakapora in Jammu and Kashmir, rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a bus carrying the CRPF personnel. 40 of our jawans were killed in action in that cowardly terror attack.
The terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), based in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. They also posted a video of the Islamic terrorist Adil Ahmad Dar, who had joined the outfit a year before. In an official statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that Pakistan was responsible for assisting terrorist attacks and that JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar had been “given the freedom to target India.”
However, the ghastly terror attack was not spared by certain opposition leaders and political parties who tried to give a clean chit to Pakistan and the terrorists involved.
The opposition leaders tried to pin the blame on Narendra Modi instead and tried to spin conspiracy theories around the attack.
On 27th August 2023, the Shiv Sena UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray alleged that the BJP conspired Pulwama terror attack to win the Lok Sabha elections 2019 in a rally in Hingoli in Maharashtra.
Earlier, on 21st July 2023, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee tried to pass off the 2019 Pulwama terror attack as a ‘staged incident’ at her Martyr’s Day rally at Esplanade in Kolkata.
In her speech, Banerjee claimed, “I will tell the students and the youth that the BJP is planning to pull off staged events such as Pulwama (terror attack).”
“They are planning to create fake, staged videos like in movies. They will stage dramas, shoot videos, and defame Bengal. This is their conspiracy,” she brazened it out.
