Congress behaving irresponsibly, weakening soldiers' morale: BJP chief Nadda

The Congress is behaving "very irresponsibly" and weakening the morale of soldiers by its statements at a time when the country is in the midst of a stand-off with China in Ladakh, BJP president J P Nadda said on Tuesday.

Addressing party workers in Assam digitally from Delhi, Nadda claimed that the BJP had always stood with the government on issues of national security when it was in opposition.

"It is sad that the opposition is only indulging in mud-slinging. It is very irresponsible. We were also in opposition for a very long time, but we stood by (Jawaharlal) Nehru in 1962, (Lal Bahadur) Shashtri in 1965 and Indira Gandhi in 1971.

"But now you see. Kargil or Ladakh -- they are only busy in mud-slinging. The Congress is weakening the morale of the soldiers by their statements," he said.

Without naming anyone, Nadda alleged that a Congress leader had secretly met the Chinese Ambassador to India during the Doklam stand-off between the two neighbours.

In a tweet earlier, Nadda had accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of secretly going to the Chinese embassy during the Doklam stand-off.

"You ask for proof of surgical strikes, air strikes -- what is this? How can a country run like this? We need to give a befitting reply to them (Congress) and our party workers need to expose them in front of the people," he added.

The BJP chief alleged that India was infamous on the world stage for corruption during the six decades after Independence.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi “finished the incomplete works of 60 years in just six years. He has been able to bridge the gap of 60 years in six years”, Nadda said.

"There was policy paralysis. Nobody knew who the PM was -- was he operating from 7 Race Course Road (Prime Minister's official residence) or from somewhere else," Nadda said in an apparent reference Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

The BJP leader asserted that Modi has been praised world over for his effective management of the COVID-19 pandemic and implementing bold decisions like imposing lockdown in a country of 135 crore people.

"It was a bold and timely decision, which helped India prepare to fight the coronavirus. In March, India was not producing a single personal protective equipment, but today we are making 4.5 lakh kits every day.

"At that time, our doubling rate was three days, but it is 17 days now. We had only 1,500 daily testing capacity, but we now have 1.5 lakh capacity," Nadda told the party workers.

The senior BJP leader slammed the Congress for allegedly questioning "every decision" of the Centre regarding the lockdown and other COVID-19 related decisions.

"During the lockdown, you asked why it was implemented, why it was extended and then why it was withdrawn. Your own party-ruled states imposed lockdown before (the Centre did it). They even sought to withdraw it later," he said.

Nadda said the BJP-led government at the Centre is fighting a two-front battle under Modi's leadership -- one against the COVID-19 virus and the other on the economic front. He also highlighted the features of the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced by the Centre.

He also emphasised on the advantages of the unique products of Assam like bamboo, tea, petroleum, muga silk and jute, and appealed to the people of the state to leverage these.

Praising Assam on its fight against the coronavirus, Nadda said the BJP-led government in the state managed the situation very well and helped poor people financially.

On the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, he said the Centre has exempted its application from states with inner-line permits and for sixth schedule areas.

"It is our duty to bring the religiously persecuted people into the mainstream. (Mahatma) Gandhi, Nehru, Manmohan Singh -- all spoke about it, but they could not do it. Only Narendra Modi did it," Nadda stressed.

The BJP president also spoke about solving various problems of the Northeast such as Bodo insurgency and Bru settlement among others.