Congress criticises Centre over Armed Forces remarks at Jabalpur rally

Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Congress leader Kamal Nath, former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupendra Baghel, Madhya Pradesh Congress President Jitendra Patwari, party leader Vivek Tankha and others during ‘Jai Hind Sabha’, in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, on May 31, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI

The Congress on Saturday (May 31, 2025), in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur, targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union Government and asserted that the Armed Forces do not belong to any single party but to the entire nation. The remarks came on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was visiting State capital Bhopal.

Several senior Congress leaders, including former Chief Ministers Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath, and Chhattisgarh’s Bhupesh Baghel, addressed a gathering at the ‘Jai Hind Sabha’ rally. The event formed part of the party’s nationwide campaign to honour the Armed Forces and personnel for their service during Operation Sindoor, India’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that claimed the lives of 26 tourists.

Addressing the audience, Mr. Baghel, the party’s national general secretary, said, “The army does not belong to any one party, but to the whole nation. There is no question on their valour. The question is on the transparency of the government’s intentions and decisions.”

“What is the compulsion that those who showed their 56-inch chest are now working under the pressure of US [United States] President [Donald] Trump?” Mr. Baghel asked, in an apparent criticism of the Prime Minister, referencing Mr. Trump’s perceived role in the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan on May 10.

Mr. Baghel stated that the Congress had fully supported the Government in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, “but the Prime Minister did not attend either of the two all-party meetings.”

“He did not go to Pahalgam, but to Bihar for election campaign,” he added.

Mr. Singh, currently a Rajya Sabha member, delivered a sharp critique of the BJP over recent comments by Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda, who reportedly said that the Armed Forces were “bowing down in the feet of Mr. Modi”.

“They insult the Armed Forces and say [they] are in Narendra Modi’s feet. This is their mindset,” Mr. Singh said, asserting that the Congress supported an ideology that upheld respect for the Forces.

“We will be safe only if we remain united. BJP does the politics of spreading hatred. Those who do politics on the shroud of martyrdom cannot be patriots,” he added.

Recalling the 1971 Indo-Pak war, Mr. Nath said the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had not yielded to American pressure.

“I have seen the 1971 war. America put various kinds of pressure but she did not bend,” he said.

Mr. Nath, who led the last Congress government in the State, also criticised the current administration, describing Madhya Pradesh as having become “the capital of lies, corruption, crimes against women and anti-farmer policies”.

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari remarked that the entire country had stood behind the government when the Prime Minister called for support.

“But the Prime Minister has betrayed. He could not take PoK [Pakistan-occupied Kashmir]. If Indira Gandhi had been the Prime Minister today, the PoK would have been a part of India. The whole country is asking why the Prime Minister bowed down to Trump?” Mr. Patwari said.

Other leaders present at the event included the State’s Leader of the Opposition Umang Singhar, State Congress in-charge Harish Choudhary, and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha.

Mr. Singhar alleged that the ceasefire agreement was a “gimmick” between Mr. Modi and the United States.

“Modi is branding himself in the name of Sindoor Yatra,” he said.

Published - May 31, 2025 07:58 pm IST