`Khoon ki Dalali` jibe: Rahul Gandhi says supports surgical strikes, not propaganda using India Army

New Delhi: A day after accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing "dalali" (trade) over the blood shed by Indian soldiers, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he was against using Army in political posters by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

He, however, extended support to surgical strikes along the Line of Control.

"I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using...the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country," said the Congress leader on Twitter.

Addressing a rally at the Jantar Mantar here at the end of his Kisan Yatra across election-bound Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, the Congress vice-president said Modi was taking political mileage from the surgical strikes the Army conducted in Pakistani territory and the sacrifices of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Unki dalali kar rahe ho... Yeh bilkul ghalat hai... Hindustan ki sena ne Hindustan ka kaam kiya, aap apna kaam keejiye... (You are trading on them. This is totally wrong... The Indian Army did its job for India, you do your work)," he had said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had described Rahul Gandhi as an `immature leader` after his 'khoon ki dalali' comment.

The BJP today said Gandhi made a joke out of the slain soldiers of the Indian Army by his comment. "I am really astonished by the kind of language Rahul Gandhi has used for the Indian Government and the Indian Prime Minister. By saying that the surgical strike and the aftermath was nothing but `khoon ki holi`, he had in fact made the joke out of the martyred brave soldiers and Indian Army," said BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and other parties have also criticised the Congress leader's remarks.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Digvijay Singh lashed out at the BJP leadership, alleging that they were touting the surgical strike on terror launch pads along the LoC as if they did it themselves instead of the Army men.

Here is what Rahul Gandhi tweeted:

I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using..(1/2) — Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 7, 2016

the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country (2/2)

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 7, 2016

Rahul Gandhi's `Kisan yatra` was planned by the party as a major reach out to farmers of Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress has been out of power for over two decades now, ahead of Assembly polls expected to take place early next year.

Gandhi covered around 140 constituencies and addressed 26 khat sabhas (cot assemblies) in his 3,400-km-long tour.