In the last stretch of Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday hit out at his critics saying whether jawans would have to take permission from the Election Commission before firing at terrorists. Referring to the Shopian encounter in which two militants were killed in Jammu and Kashmir today morning, PM Modi said, “Some people are worried as to why did Modi kill the terrorists when voting is underway in parts of the country? When an armed terrorist is attacking, will my jawan go to the polling authorities and seek their permission to kill him? Opposition kya khel bana rakha hai? (What drama is the opposition enacting)”
Addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar, Modi added, “Since the time our government was elected in Kashmir, there’s a ‘cleaning operation’ every other day. This is a part of my job.” He said it was surprising to note that the opposition parties were saying that elections were on and the security forces were opening fire at militants, news agency PTI reported.
While no political party has raised questions about the encounter, Congress and other opposition parties had complained to the EC over the “brazen” and “reckless invocation” of armed forces and the Balakot air strikes in PM Modi’s campaign speeches. Several retired officers of the armed forces had also objected to the alleged politicisation of the armed forces.
The prime minister was however given clean chits by the EC over his speeches, saying no model code was violated.