Cong condemns Punjab attack, accuses, Akali Dal, BJP of ‘doublespeak’

NEW DELHI: On a day terror struck Punjab, Congress extended support to the government on terrorism but the main opposition party alleged that that the doublespeak of Akali Dal and BJP is responsible for deterioration of situation in Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab.
Lashing out at home minister Rajnath Singh for travelling to Madhya Pradesh while terrorists attack was going on, Congress dubbed the incident as a "cocktail of failure" of intelligence, law and order and administrative machinery.
"It is a cocktail of intelligence failure, of law and order failure and administrative and political failure," party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said, adding that India cannot show resolve against terrorism with the home minister flying away mid-way to Madhya Pradesh.
“I do not understand how PM can give us very preachy lessons of nationalism and security if his home minister is absenting while our jawans and other security personnel are fighting a valiant battle,” he said.
While arguing that Congress stood firmly behind the government in the resolve to fight against terrorism, Singhvi blamed Akali Dal, BJP as well as AAP for “doublespeak” on Khalistani terrorists.
"It is deplorable to see the doublespeak," he said alleging that there have been demands by these parties to go soft on terror.
Some of them want to shift Khalistani terrorists from Delhi to Punjab, he said.
“When Khalistani or Pakistani flags arise, it is not the flags we are concerned or worried about, it is the deteriorating law and order situation, it is the regional chauvinism. It is the lack of control of the central and state governments,” said Sighvi, attacking Akali Dal-BJP and PDP-BJP governments in Punjab and J&K respectively.
He said, “I say with as much anger as with pain and sadness, the attempt to make martyrs out of terrorists, which is happening frequently. These double-standards do not behove of parties which rule at the Centre and give preaching lessons of jingoism and anti-nationalism at the drop of the hat but are unable to do anything in cases where they are in coalition at the state level.”
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, along with other party functionaries condemned the terror attack in Dinanagar in Gurdaspur in Punjab.
"The Congress resolutely stood against such forces and combated them," Sonia Gandhi said while condoling the death of security personnel and others in the attack.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said, "Strongly condemn the terror attack in Gurdaspur. I hope the situation is brought under control at the earliest."
Flaying Pakistan and "its terror-manufacturing apparatus", leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "The Indian security forces have been ably fighting Pak-sponsored terror for more than 30 years and are fully motivated to counter the evil designs of the Pakistani establishment."
Another party spokesman Anand Sharma said the government should reveal what assurances Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif gave to PM Narendra Modi at their meeting in Ufa in Russia in June.