Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani lashes out at Akhilesh Yadav for his remark on martyrs

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Wednesday slammed Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over his remark that no soldier from Gujarat got martyred. Rupani termed Yadav’s statement as “anti-Gujarat” and said the SP leader is making such a “low level” comment out of frustration after his party’s humiliating defeat in the recently held Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. [caption id=“attachment_3437090” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani. News18[/caption] “I condemn the views expressed by former UP chief minister on martyrs today. Such statement is anti-Gujarat,” said Rupani in a statement. Yadav on Wednesday appeared to question the patriotism of the people of Gujarat when he said no soldier from the state got martyred. “Jawans from UP, Madhya Pradesh, South India and other parts of the country have sacrificed their lives but tell me if anyone from Gujarat has been martyred,” he said. Responding to Yadav, Rupani said the SP leader is trying to malign the image of Gujarat and its people by making such statement. “Yadav is making such statement out of frustration, as his party faced humiliating defeat in UP. Such statement is an attempt to malign the image of Gujarat and its people. He is indulging in a very low level politics,” said Rupani. The chief minister added this is not the first time Akhilesh has made such derogatory remarks about Gujarat. Earlier, the SP chief had targeted Gujarat by asking Amitabh Bachchan, who is the face of Gujarat Tourism, not to advertise for “donkeys of Gujarat”. “Earlier, Yadav defamed Gujarat by comparing wild ass of Gujarat to donkey. I believe that people in public life should rise from such low level politics. He is trying to attract cheap publicity by making such statements” Rupani added. At least three soldiers from Gujarat have laid down their lives in the line of duty in the months of January and February this year. In January, two soldiers, Sunil Patel of Panchmahals district and Deva Parmar of Bhavnagar district, were martyred in avalanche in Machhil sector of Jammu and Kashmir. In February, Lance Naik Gopal Singh Bhadoria, a resident of Ahmedabad, was martyred in a fierce gun-battle with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.