Rahul’s ‘dalali’ barb: Paswan says it demoralises soldiers

Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Sunday criticised Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for his ‘dalali’ remarks on army’s surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the LoC, saying such statements lead to demoralisation of the forces. He said the Congress leader should not have made such a remark and pointed out that only two days before making the statement, “Rahul Gandhi had welcomed the surgical strikes and appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this step”.

“What had happened in two days’ time that made him change his stance?” Paswan asked. Attacking the Prime Minister, Gandhi had told a rally in Delhi, “Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai. {You (Modi) are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong}.” 

Paswan, while talking about his native state Bihar, said the law and order situation was in bad shape under the ruling combine of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav.

“People of Bihar are feeling insecure as murders, kidnappings and incidents of loot have become an every day affair. Cold war between Nitish and Lalu has also started in the state and thus anti-social elements were taking full advantage of it,” Paswan claimed.