BJP MP's remark on inevitability of soldiers' deaths raises furore in Lok Sabha

New Delhi: The BJP-led NDA, which has been harping on nationalism and invoking the sacrifices of Army and security personnel, was caught on the wrong foot on Tuesday when its Lok Sabha MP from Rampur, Nepal Singh commented that it was normal for soldiers to die during a combat.

“Woh toh roz marenge, Army mein (those in the Army are bound to die daily). Is there any country where armymen don’t die during jhagda (fighting)? Even when there is a fight in a village, one or two persons are bound to get injured,” Mr Singh told a news agency while reacting on the December 31 terrorist attack on a CRPF camp in Pulwama in J&K in which five security personnel were killed.

Chaos prevailed in Parliament with the Congress slamming Mr Singh for his remark and sought his apology. A red faced BJP pulled up the MP, who later apologised for his comments.

“I did not say anything to insult the Army. I have always supported the Army and promoted them. I am saddened and I apologise if they felt... But I did not say anything like that,” he said. The MP added that he always encouraged more people to join the armed forces.

Holding on to the controversial comment on the terrorist attack, Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia questioned the government’s Pakistan policy. He slammed the government over National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s meeting his Pakistani counterpart in Bangkok last week, notwithstanding Pakistani authorities ill-treating the family of Indian death row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav in Islamabad.

Rebutting the charges, parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar accused the Congress of trying to play politics over a sensitive issue.