‘Tired of PM Beating His Trumpet’: Chidambaram Says Modi Focusing Only on Pak, Evading Key Issues

New Delhi: In a series of tweets posted on Wednesday morning, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of evading important issues such as the GST and demonetisation in his poll campaigns, and instead “beating his own trumpet” on steps taken against Pakistan.

“Tired of listening to the PM beat his own trumpet on what he did to Pakistan. Before the campaign ends, will the PM speak on the top issues concerning the people?” Chidambaram tweeted.

Listing out key issues that the nation is dealing with, the former finance minister said, “The top issues are (1) jobs, (2) farmers' distress and debt and (3) security of all sections of the people. Why is PM silent on these issues?”

“People want to hear the PM speak on demonetisation, messed up GST and plight of MSMEs. People also want to hear the PM speak on hate speeches, especially by leaders of his own party,” he added.

The PM often brings up the Balakot strikes and India’s retaliation against Pakistan in his poll speeches. Speaking at an election rally in Barmer on Sunday, Modi said that India missed a "golden opportunity" during 1971 war to resolve Kashmir dispute by releasing hundreds of Pakistani troops from the Indian Army's custody "under global pressure".

"Pak troops were in our custody. A big area of Pakistan was also captured by Indian forces during the 1971 war but the Congress government lost it on the table in Shimla agreement and they were released," he said.

Addressing a poll rally at Patan in his home state Gujarat the same day, he said he had warned Pakistan of consequences if it did not return Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. "We conducted a press conference and warned Pakistan that if anything happened to our pilot, you will keep telling the world that Modi did this to you," he said.

Following the air strike at Balakot terror camp in Pakistan, there was a dogfight between Indian and Pakistani fighter planes on February 27 in which IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by the neighbouring country.

He also used the Sri Lankan blasts at hotels and churches to draw a parallel to the situation in India before he came to power in 2014. “Yesterday (on Sunday), bomb blast happened in Sri Lanka. Hundreds were killed, that too, on the auspicious occasion of Easter. They were praying to their god when they were killed,” he said and asked a large crowd gathered in Dindori in Maharashtra if the situation in India was not similar to this before 2014.