Cong alleges PM busy in film shot in Corbett, had 'chai-samosa' after Pulwama strike;BJP hits back

Gloves were off on Thursday between the Congress and the BJP over the Pulwama strike, with the opposition party citing media reports to allege that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was busy shooting for a film in the Corbett National Park on February 14 till hours after the attack, and the ruling party hitting back saying they have "no face" to raise questions on Modi's nationalism.

After maintaining a silence for nearly a week over the terror strike that killed 40 CRPF personnel, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala addressed a press conference to claim that the Prime Minister continued to "have tea, samosas, at seven o'clock in a PWD guest house when every single Indian household didn't eat food".

He also accused BJP president Amit Shah of indulging in "politicisation of terrorism" in his speech in Assam on Sunday.

Sharply reacting to Surjewala's comments, Shah at a party event in Andhra Pradesh said it was condemnable that the Congress has "politicised" the Pulwama attack, and asserted that people have full trust in Modi's commitment to root out terrorism.

The BJP president also asked with what face the Congress was raising questions against the Prime Minister.

Slamming the Congress for targeting the Prime Minister on the Pulwama attack, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad dubbed its allegations "shameful" and said they have exposed the party's "true colours" after it kept a "facade" of standing with security forces and the government following the terror strike.

"Congress called the Army chief names, it raised doubts over the surgical strikes (on terror havens in Pakistan), it accused the prime minister of trading with soldiers' blood, Congress' (Navjot Singh) Sidhu embraced Pakistan Army chief, the previous Congress president cried when terrorists were killed," the BJP chief said.

Reacting to Shah's remarks, Surjewala said he should not forget that it was a Congress government that taught Pakistan a lesson in 1947, in 1965 and in 1971.

At the press conference, the Congress chief spokesperson also alleged that "in his hunger for power, the prime minister has forgotten 'raj dharma' (duty of governance)."