After ‘stuntbaazi’ remark, Punjab ex-CM Channi calls for probe into Poonch terror attack

Former Punjab chief minister and Jalandhar Congress candidate Charanjit Singh Channi on Monday clarified that his controversial remark after the Poonch terror ambush was meant to question why such attacks happened just before elections.

A day after he triggered a controversy by calling the Poonch terror attack in which an IAF personnel was killed “stuntbaazi” meant to make the BJP win the Lok Sabha elections, former chief minister and Jalandhar Congress candidate Charanjit Singh Channi on Monday demanded a probe into the ambush so that the “real perpetrators” could be brought to book.

The remark evoked sharp reactions from BJP leaders, including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Anurag Thakur, who sought an apology from the Congress leadership for insulting soldiers with the deplorable statement.

“We are proud of the jawans who join the armed forces and safeguard the country. My statement referred to the point that why such attacks happened just before the elections. Even before the 2019 general elections, 40 jawans lost their lives in the Pulwama attack but the Union government has not found out who executed the attack till date. The government failed to find those responsible behind it,” he said.

“It is election time once again. Our jawans were attacked once again and one jawan lost his life. I would like to ask the government who are those people who orchestrate such attacks, why are they not brought before everyone, why does intelligence failure take place,” Channi said.

On Sunday, he termed the terror attack an “election stunt” and “orchestrated” by the BJP to bolster its prospects in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Corporal Vikky Pahade was killed and four IAF personnel were injured after terrorists ambushed the convoy at Lassana Top in Surankote tehsil of Poonch district. The attack came days before Poonch goes to the polls on May 25 as part of the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency.

Channi said Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar, who was in the Congress in the 2019 election, had demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and blamed the BJP for planning such attacks. “Jakhar should clear his stance on why he gave such a statement from the stage at that time. The video of his whole speech is available on social media,” he said.

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