Yeddyurappa draws flak over ‘air strike will help BJP in winning 22 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka’ comment

Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa sparked a controversy over his comment that India's air strike on a terror camp in Pakistan on Tuesday has created a wave in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will help the ruling BJP win over 22 of 28 seats in the state in the national election due by May.

"Just now we got news that a Pakistani jet which tried to enter our border has been chased back. Pakistan has been taught a lesson, after 40 years PM Modi has done it. PM said we'd reply to every drop of blood of our soldiers and he has shown that today. Youth are celebrating; all this will help us in winning more than 22 Lok Sabha seats (in Karnataka)," NDTV quoted him as saying.

Embarrassing as this comment was for the ruling BJP, Yeddyurappa was rebuked by his party colleague, Union Minister VK Singh, who said in a tweet, “Yeddyruppa ji, I beg to differ. We stand as one nation, action taken by our government is to safeguard our nation & ensure safety of our citizens, not to win a few extra seats.”

But Yeedyurappa drew a lot of flake for this comment from the opposition parties too.

The Madhya Pradesh Congress tweeted."They have no shame. The country is tense, our pilot is in Pakistan's custody, soldiers' families are worried, and BJP is counting seats, Such lowdown politics."

Congress Spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala also criticised the BJP leader comments and referred to it as blatant politicisation.

Well-known Journalist Barkha Dutt called it an insult to Wing Commander Abhinandan and CRPF soldiers martyred in Pulwama.

Meanwhile, Yeddyurappa on Friday, issued a clarification and said that he is being quoted out of context.