Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday went after Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming the BJP leader had ‘leaked’ information about the Balakot air strikes allegedly to Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami. He alleged that Modi cannot say the word China as he “does not have the courage to say” so, PTI reported. 

Rahul Gandhi, who is on a three-day election campaign to Tamil Nadu, during his roadshow made a claim that Modi had ‘breached’ the Official Secrets Act.

Arnab Goswami has touched headlines in the past months, first because of the TRP scam and then when his WhatsApp conversations came out. Gandhi picked on the WhatsApp part and attacked Modi saying all the information was on Arnab Goswami’s WhatsApp. 

“Some days back it came out that a journalist knew about the air strikes in Balakot. Three days before the (Indian) air force bombed Pakistan, an Indian journalist was told it was going to happen. This meant the lives of our IAF pilots were put at ‘risk. Now, five people in this world knew about Balakot (air strikes). Prime Minister of India, the Defence minister of India, the National Security Adviser and the Chief of the Air Force and the Home Minister,” he said. 

Also Read: Journalist Arnab Goswami threatens to sue Congress, says party spreading lies about him

He reasoned his argument – no solid evidence provided- by saying that the lives of the soldiers were put on risk.

“If it is not the Prime Minister why has he not ordered an inquiry and said treason has taken place. Somebody out of these five people has put the Indian nation, the Indian Air Force at risk. I want to find out who it is,” he told reporters later.

“The fact that this information is on WhatsApp and this gentleman (Goswami) knows it three days before… of course Official Secrets Act has been breached. The act has been breached by one of those five people and also by this person who is busy telling somebody else,” he said, expressing fears that “enemy forces” could access such information too if it was on such social media platform.

Purported chats between Goswami and former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) head Partho Dasgupta, which mentioned that the former was privy to the 2019 air strike by the IAF on the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot, had surfaced recently.

The IAF had carried out the strike deep inside Pakistan on February 26, 2019 in the wake of killing of 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir’s Pulwama district then by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Gandhi also hit out at Modi once again over the Sino-India face-off, saying “today the Chinese army is sitting inside Indian territory.” “The Prime Minister has said he has a 56 inch chest, big chest. Today the Chinese army is sitting inside Indian territory. Thousand km of Indian land has been taken by the Chinese,” he said.

“You look at his speeches for the last 3-4 months, he does not say the word China. When the Chinese entered our territory he lied that nobody has come. After some days the Army and Defence minister said the Chinese army had come into Indian territory,” Gandhi added.

“And the only reason the Chinese have the guts and the courage to come into this country is because Narendra Modi has destroyed the economy and weakened (the country) by dividing it,” he charged.