Amit Shah has powers of nocturnal bird, can count bodies in dark: NCP's swipe at BJP chief

Accusing the government of politicising the IAF's strike on a JeM camp in Pakistan's Balakot, the NCP Thursday took a swipe at BJP president Amit Shah, saying he could count the number of terrorists killed in the action as he has special powers of a "nocturnal bird".

In a pinpointed and swift air strike that lasted less than two minutes, India pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Balakot on February 26.

The BJP chief had recently claimed that over 250 terrorist had been killed in the air strike.

NCP's general secretary and chief spokesperson D P Tripathi said after the air strike, opposition parties stood firmly behind the government and it was a common understanding that the counter-terrorist operation will not be politicised.

"But unfortunately, Prime minister Narendra Modi, his government and the BJP leadership started politicising the issue. By doing so, they have insulted and made a mockery of the patriotic commitment of our armed forces," he told reporters here.

The prime minister has been levelling baseless allegations against all opposition parties in his rallies across the country and he uses "very foul" and "indecent" language against them, Tripathi alleged.

While Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale have refused to talk about the number of casualties in the air strike, Shah has stated the figure as 250, Tripathi said.

"Perhaps, he is endowed with special powers of one nocturnal bird to see in the dark. The contradictory statements made by the different sections of the central government demonstrates utter confusion...," he said.

The NCP leader claimed that any question regarding the air strike is perceived as "anti-national".

Tripathi said a pertinent question that the government has to answer is about the breach of security by terrorists that led to the Pulwama attack.

On February 14, a suicide bomber from the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a CRPF bus in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, killing at least 40 personnel.

Tripathi also said the government must put pressure on Pakistan to stop and ban all terrorist organisations operating from its soil.