There should be no politics on Pulwama, Balakot : Nitish

In a veiled criticism of the Congress-led opposition, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar Wednesday asserted that there should be no politics on the Pulwama terror attack and the air strikes on a Jaish camp in Balakot that followed.

Kumar, whose JD(U) is an NDA ally, also underscored that there should be due acknowledgement of the patriotic upsurge that has followed the recent events in Jammu and Kashmir and of the fact that the respect for the armed forces has increased further.

Such things should not be spoken. There should be no politics on this issue which concerns national unity and integrity. The popular sentiment must be respected, the chief minister told reporters here.

The the Janata Dal (United) was responding to queries about a number of opposition leaders, notably Congress veterans Digvijay Singh and Kapil Sibal, raising doubts on the air strike.

The opposition leaders have been citing international media reports which claim that the IAF operation in Balakot had caused no casualties, contrary to claims by some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders that hundreds of militants were killed.

It should be understood that the respect for the armed forces has further increased in the wake of the recent operations. The popular sentiment is also appreciative of the governments handling of the crisis. This should be kept in mind, the JD(U) national president said.

Kumar had expressed his anger over the killing of 40 CRPF jawans in the Pulwama attack on February 14.

Two of the deceased--Sanjay Kumar Sinha and Ratan Kumar Thakur--hailed from Bihar.

Kumar on Saturday last had called on the bereaved family members of Sinha, a CRPF Head Constable, in Masaurhi block of rural Patna, where he garlanded his portrait.