Congress demands apology from BJP MP Nepal Singh for remarks on armed forces

The Congress today demanded an unconditional apology from BJP MP Nepal Singh for his reported comments that army jawans should expect death because of the profession they are in.

During the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said the comments by the BJP MP reflected that the government was not serious about the lives of the armed forces personnel.

"The remarks by the BJP MP are not accpetable. He must tender an unconditional apology," Scindia said while raising the issue of the terror attack on a CRPF battalion in Pulwama on Sunday.

Singh, who represents Rampur constituency in Uttar Pradesh, had reportedly said "these things happen", while replying to a question about deaths of security personnel in the attack.

Scindia said terrorists have been targeting military establishments in the last couple of years but the government is not strengthening security around them which shows that the current dispensation does not respect the lives of armed forces personnel.

"They had earlier said 'we will get at 10 heads (from Pakistan) for one'. Now they are allowing the security personnel to die," said Scindia.

Rebutting the Congress leader's allegations, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar accused the opposition of politicising the issue, asserting that government has high regards for the armed forces.