BJP govt released and escorted Masood Azhar to Kandahar: Ghulam Nabi Azad

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad Monday said though the BJP claims to end terrorism, it was the saffron party's government that released terrorist Masood Azhar and escorted him to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Addressing an election rally of the Congress in Murad Nagar near Ghaziabad, Azad said not a single leader of the BJP has sacrificed their lives for the nation, while the Congress has a long list of such leaders who happily gave their lives for the country.

"BJP claims to end terrorism. On the other hand, the BJP government had released and escorted terrorist Masood Azhar, head of Jaish-e-Mohammed, to Kandahar," the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said.

Taking on the BJP, he said 4 crore 41 lakh industrial units have suffered losses due to ill implementation of the GST and their owners had to shut them down.

"BJP government is anti-farmer due to which cultivators are not getting actual price of their crops. Diesel and petrol prices have been increased and as a result cost of everything has gone up," Azad said.

"Modi's promise of providing two crore jobs was like painting a rosy picture, the consequences of which the youths are facing today," he added.

The Congress leader said rape cases and other crimes have also escalated under the current government and communalism is at its peak.