Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Uttar Pradesh unit chief Swatantra Dev Singh has stoked a controversy with his remark that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has 'decided' the date of war with China and Pakistan.
“Like the decisions on Ram Mandir and Article 370, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided when there would be war with Pakistan and China,” he said in a video that has surfaced on social media. "Sambandhit tithi tai hai," Singh opined.
The UP BJP chief is believed to have made the comment in Ballia last week where he had gone for the bhoomi pujan ceremony of a Krishna temple under the Sikandarpur constituency.
His remarks came amid tension at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh between India and China, where the two Asian giants have massed troops over recent months.
Singh also lashed out at the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party for failing to meet the expectations of the people of Uttar Pradesh. He then went on to compare SP and BSP workers with 'terrorists', a PTI report said.
When asked about the remarks, local BJP MP Ravindra Kushwaha said the leader made them to boost the morale of party workers.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has reacted angrily to the BJP leader's comments. He also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for 'planning a war' against an enemy which he said PM Modi has refused even to name".
"Amazing. So the PM (who will not even name the state that has encroached upon our land) is planning a war against an Unnamed Enemy, over territory he claims has never been taken, on a date that only he knows? So is this what he meant by "minimal government"!?" he tweeted.
By-elections to seven Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh will be held on November 3. The seven assembly seats are Naugawan Sadat, Bulandshahr, Tundla, Bangermau, Ghatampur, Deoria, and Malhani. The results will be declared on November 10.
