Govt packaging 'jingoism' to hide security 'failures': Cong on Gadkari's water threat

In a sharp attack, the Congress on Friday dismissed Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's remarks that India has decided to "stop" the flow of its share of water to Pakistan as an attempt to "package high octane jingoism to subterfuge national security failures".

Union Water Resources Minister Gadkari had said on Thursday that India has decided to "stop" the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from rivers under the Indus Water Treaty -- comments that came over a week after the ghastly Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

"You cannot always get away by substituting rhetoric for action. Yesterday you had the highways minister saying that we will stop the flow of all eastern rivers to Pakistan. Somebody needs to ask them that do dams get built in a day," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.

The two projects the minister was alluding to are Shapurkandi, which was cleared in 1999, and Ujh, that was cleared by the Union cabinet in 2006, he said.

"So, therefore trying to package high octane jingoism to subterfuge their own national security failures, trying to label those who ask the hard national security questions as sympathizers of Pakistan, Mr Prime Minister, we will not let you and your government get away by playing with the security of the Indian nation," Tewari said.

"Under the leadership of Hon'ble PM Sri @narendramodi ji, Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab," Gadkari had tweeted.

An official had later clarified that it was not a "new decision" and that the water resources minister was "simply reiterating" what he has always said.