Centre had intel yet failed to prevent strike: Mamata

Kolkata: Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly politicising the Pulwama incident where 40 CRPF jawans lost their lives in a terror attack, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said he was doing politics over the blood of those who were in military uniform.

"We, as common people, are entitled to ask questions on why we have lost so many jawans in Pulwama. Why had the Centre failed to check the ghastly terror attack despite the intelligence inputs. If someone is trying to win elections capitalising on the death of our jawans, he is living in a fool's paradise," Banerjee said.

"We would not allow the Centre to take political mileage over such a sensitive issue. We are with our armed forces and also with the people of this country. But we are not with Modi Babu who has no credibility to remain in the office of the Prime Minister. It is a shame that he is the PM of our country."

The Chief Minister further maintained: "Those who are trying to question the Centre, they are being branded as anti-nationals. The BJP has become the personal property of Modi and Amit Shah."

Echoing the thoughts of the Chief Minister, TMC national spokesperson Derek O'Brien said BJP was trying to replace the Ashoka emblem on the uniform of the armed forces with party logo.

The BJP should stop taking credit for the preemptive strike on terror camps in Pakistan as the armed forces belong to India, not to the saffron party, he maintained.

"The BJP is shamelessly trying to replace the Ashok Stambh (emblem) on the armed forces' uniform, with their party logo. Not a single Opposition leader has politicised the airstrike, it was just the BJP who did it.

"The armed forces are India's pride. We are always with them, but we will oppose the incumbent government, whose expiry date is over," O'Brien, who is also the TMC parliamentary party leader in Rajya Sabha, added.

BJP national president Amit Shah said on Saturday that those who did not have the courage to avenge the killing of soldiers, when in power, were raising doubts on the recent airstrike on Jaish-e-Mohammed camps for "cheap politics" and their statements have made Pakistan happy.

Two days before Shah's assertion, Mamata Banerjee had demanded evidence of the Indian Air Force airstrike. She also said that the Opposition wanted to know the details of the operation.