Pulwama attack: Digvijaya Singh blames 'blatant intelligence failure'

Bhopal: Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday sparked a row saying 40 CRPF jawans were martyred in Pulwama in 2019 due to a "blatant intelligence failure".

A tweet by Singh on the anniversary of the Pulwama suicide bomber attack on the CRPF convoy evoked a sharp reaction from Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who demanded that the "DNA" of the Congress party be examined.

“Today we pay homage to the 40 CRPF Martyrs who died because of the blatant Intelligence Failure in Pulwama. I hope all the Martyred Families have been suitably rehabilitated,” Digvijaya Singh tweeted.

Today we pay homage to the 40 CRPF Martyrs who died because of the blatant Intelligence Failure in Pulwama.
I hope all the Martyred Families have been suitably rehabilitated.

— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) February 14, 2023

More than 40 soldiers made the supreme sacrifice after a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into the CRPF convoy in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on this day in the year 2019.

In a retaliatory attack, the Indian Air Force targeted terror camps in Pakistan's Balakot.

“I think Digvijayji's intelligence has failed, it is his failure. He insults the country's Army and speaks the language of Pakistan. He tries to demoralise the Army,” Chouhan told reporters.

Seeking a reply from former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party MP Rahul Gandhi on this issue, Chouhan said an investigation is needed to find out "who sowed the seeds in Singh's mind to speak against the country and the Army. Congress' DNA should be examined as the party talks about uniting India (Bharat Jodo Yatra) but marches with those who talk about breaking India".

Chouhan said it was surprising that a leader of Congress has been constantly questioning the bravery and patriotism of the Army and is speaking the language of Pakistan.

This is not the first time when Digvijaya Sigh, a Rajya Sabha member and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, has raised questions over the Pulwama attack.

Speaking in Jammu and Kashmir last month, Singh had alleged the BJP-led Central government gave no proof of the 2019 ‘surgical strike’ in response to the terror attack.

The Congress and Rahul Gandhi had, however, distanced themselves from Singh's remarks on the previous occasion.