Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, at a rally in Krishnanagar, West Bengal on April 22, said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi “sent his airforce” to conduct airstrikes in Balakot.

The comments come only a few weeks after the Election Commission (EC) had issued notices to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi after they referred to the Indian army as ‘Modiji ki sena’. However, it appears that EC’s censures holds little value in the eyes of BJP leaders.

ANI reported that Shah said, “Forty-four of jawans were martyred in Pulwama terror attack. Earlier, nothing used to happen after such incidents. Narendra Modi ordered his Air Force on the 13th day (of the incident) and our aircraft blew the terrorists to pieces in Pakistan.”

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Additionally, the comment comes despite EC issuing an advisory asking political parties to desist from indulging in political propaganda involving actions of the armed forces. Political parties are not to display the armed forces on their posters and leaders are not to ask for votes in the name of the military.

Even former army chiefs have condemned the exploitation of armed forces by political leaders. Earlier this month, over 150 veterans — including three former Army chiefs, four former Navy chief and a former Air Force chief — wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind, slamming the BJP’s politicisation of the armed forces and unusual and completely unacceptable practice of taking credit for military operations.

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