India today needs a strong-willed leader like Rahul Gandhi who would have split Pakistan in two parts and taken back Pakistan occupied Kashmir had be been the Prime Minister of the country instead of Narendra Modi, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said on Thursday while participating in Congress ‘Jai Hind Yatra’ in Nizampet, Hyderabad.
"Today, this country needs Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. If a leader like Rahul Gandhi would have been Prime Minister of this country, then he would have taken (former PM) Indira Gandhi as inspiration and would have walked in Kaali’s (Maata) way and would have made Pakistan into two parts and would have taken PoK back," Reddy was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The Telangana Chief Minister also questioned PM Modi's decision to pause military operations against Pakistan and said he should have consulted all parties before arriving at the decision.
Reddy noted that the Congress leadership extended its full support to the Centre at the all-party meeting and proposed "waging a war" against Pakistan o integrate Pakistan-occupied Kashmir into India.
"We announced that Pakistan should not appear on the world map, and that we would all support the Prime Minister for this cause. Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge attended the all-party meeting and clearly expressed their support to the Centre. They clarified that we should wage war against Pakistan to integrate Pakistan-occupied Kashmir into India, and that we would stand in support beyond politics," Reddy said.
"But what happened after four days of military action? The Modi government ended the operations halfway. Why didn't they seek all-party opinion before declaring a ceasefire? Only a leader with courage in his heart can deploy an effective war strategy," he said, pitching Rahul as the future Prime Minister of the country.
The chief minister also drew comparisons between the current leadership and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in their approach to military conflicts. "It was Indira Gandhi's glory to have declared war against China and taught China a strong lesson. When China captured our Army jawan Colonel Santosh, Modi didn't even attempt to teach China a lesson," he said.
He also referred to the 1971 India-Pakistan war, noting that Indira Gandhi refused US' mediation. "In that war, Indira Gandhi split Pakistan into two pieces."
"Indira Gandhi’s grandson Rahul Gandhi should become the Prime Minister of this country. Only if he becomes PM, he’ll defeat Pakistan on one side and China on the other side and uphold our self-respect,” he added.
Reddy then went on level serious allegations against Prime Minister Modi and accused him of "mortgaging national security to Trump".
"When the country's people urged him to wear the crown of valor and wage war, Modi ceased military operations saying Trump told him to. Then why are BJP leaders conducting Tiranga rallies today? War is not your personal affair, it's a matter of national security," Reddy said.
"The Modi government has mortgaged national security to Trump," he added.
The chief minister also explained the rationale behind the Congress' 'Jai Hind Yatra' campaign and said it was aimed at instilling confidence in the armed forces.
"The history of sacrificing lives for the country belongs to the Congress party and the Gandhi family. Modi is like an expired coin. The country needs a leader like Rahul Gandhi. We should not rest until we see Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister of the country," he added.
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