Rahul Gandhi has 'insulted' India's armed forces must apologise Haryana minister

Chandigarh, Jun 5 (PTI) Haryana minister Anil Vij on Thursday demanded an apology from Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for his "surrender" barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the Congress leader has "insulted" the country's armed forces and the nation.
     The energy and transport minister also said "it is unacceptable to use such language about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the hero of the nation". He equated Gandhi's remarks as an act of "betrayal".
     Vij asserted that the people of India would never forgive Gandhi for this.
     Gandhi had on Tuesday alleged at a Congress event in Bhopal that Modi surrendered after a call from US President Donald Trump during the India-Pakistan military conflict in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
     Vij told reporters in Ambala that India achieved a major success in Operation Sindoor, under which the Indian armed forces carried out pre-dawn missile strikes on May 7 on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke.
     "In such a context, using derogatory language for Narendra Modi, the hero of this mission, is nothing less than treason," Vij, the BJP MLA from Ambala Cantt, said.
     On Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra recently alleging that the BJP-led government at the Centre is continuously failing on the economic front, Vij retorted that she must be referring to the erstwhile Congress-led regime.
     Vij, a seven-time legislator, said under Prime Minister Modi, India has made significant progress and has now become the world's fourth-largest economy.
     He added that development is taking place at every level under Modi's leadership to make India a developed nation by 2047.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)