‘Who released Masood Azhar?’ asks Rahul Gandhi as he shares images of NSA Ajit Doval in Kandahar

Stepping up attack on the Narendra Modi government, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday shared images of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval when he went to Kandahar for handing over Masood Azhar in exchange 160 passengers and crew of the IC 814 Indian Airlines Airbus A300. Taking to micro-blogging website Twitter, Rahul wrote: “PM Modi please tell the families of our 40 CRPF Shaheeds, who released their murderer, Masood Azhar? Also tell them that your current NSA was the deal maker, who went to Kandahar to hand the murderer back to Pakistan (sic).” Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar was released by the then BJP government under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee as part of a deal to free the Kandahar plane hijack hostages in December 1999.

PM Modi please tell the families of our 40 CRPF Shaheeds, who released their murderer, Masood Azhar?

Also tell them that your current NSA was the deal maker, who went to Kandahar to hand the murderer back to Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/hGPmCFJrJC

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 10, 2019

Earlier, addressing a public gathering in north Karnataka's Haveri, the Gandhi scion slammed PM Modi for the death of CRPF jawans in the Pulwama terror attack. On February 14, at least 42 CRPF personnel were killed in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district when a Jaish suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 30 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district that also left many critically wounded.

More than 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Valley, were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were ambushed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Latoomode in Awantipora in south Kashmir.

A few days ago, our soldiers were martyred in Pulwama. I have a small question for PM Modi - Who is responsible for the attack? Who sent Masood Azhar back to Pakistan? What is the name of the JeM chief," the Congress president was quoted as saying in Haveri.

"Ajit Doval, who is the National Security Advisor for the Modi Govt, escorted head of JeM Masood Azhar back to Pakistan. We are not like Narendra Modi, we don't bow down to terrorists," he added.

"Why are you not speaking about it. Why are you not saying that the person who killed CRPF jawans was sent to Pakistan by BJP... Modiji we are not like you. We don't bow in front of terror. Make it clear to people to India who sent Masood Azhar," he said.