'Has anyone from Gujarat been martyred?': Cong and BJP slam Akhilesh Yadav over comment on jawans

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav appeared to question the patriotism of the people of Gujarat when he said no soldier from the state got martyred, remarks the BJP claimed stemmed from "frustration". "UP, Madhya Pradesh, Dakshin Bharat har jagah se shaheed huye hain, Gujarat ka koi jawan shaheed hua ho toh batao (Jawans from UP, Madhya Pradesh, South India and other parts of the country have sacrificed their lives but tell me whether anyone has been martyred from Gujarat)," he said.

Without naming BJP, he said, "They play politics in the name of martyrs, vande matram and nationalism. What is their definition (of nationalism)? They do not even consider us Hindus."

He was apparently targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Gujarat politician whose rise in national politics has been blamed by his detrators for simultaneous growth of aggressive nationalism. 

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said people would not tolerate such statements. ‘It seems Akhilesh has not come out of the shock of defeat in Uttar Pradesh elections and that is why he is making such objectionable remarks,’ said Maurya. He advised Akhilesh to be cautious when the matter pertains to country’s security and Indian army.

‘Every soldier is of India and he can’t be bracketed into a particular state. Akhilesh has hurt sentiments by making such statement,’ said the UP deputy Chief Minister. The Congress Party also out rightly rejected Akhilesh’s statement and termed it as ‘negative’.

Congress leader K.T.S. Tulsi said dividing the sacrifices of our brave soldiers on parochial lines is completely wrong. ‘This is very negative comment. Army belongs to India as its name suggests. Punjab doesn’t have its own army, Bengal doesn’t have its own army, Gujarat doesn’t have its own army. The Indian Army is for maintaining the sovereignty and integrity of the country. So, to divide the sacrifices of our brave soldiers on parochial lines is completely wrong,’ said Tulsi. 

He added that all the soldiers of Army and para-military forces are the children of Bharat Mata. ‘Each one of the Indians is beholden to the all the forces of the country. Army and para-military forces are the children of Bharat Mata,’ asserted Tulsi.