Cong works for electoral gains, says defence MoS Ajay Bhatt on posters featuring Gen Bipin Rawat

NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt on Thursday lashed out at Congress over their posters in Uttarakhand featuring late Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin

Rawat

's photos with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying that the party always worked for "electoral gains".

Posters with photos of Congress leaders Indira Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi alongside General Rawat, who recently died in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu, sprung up in the streets of Uttarakhand ahead of the Wayanad MP's rally in Dehradun ahead of state Assembly elections next year.

"Congress always works for electoral gains. I don't want to say anything about this. If people gain sense even if it is around elections, then it's good and it should remain like that," Bhatt said.

India's first Chief of Defence Staff and longest-serving four-star officer General Bipin Rawat, who hails from Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand, died in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8 along with 13 others including his wife Madhulika Rawat.

Posters countering those with faces of Congress leaders have also been put up in the city questioning the party's sudden respect for General Rawat.

The posters have a photograph of younger Rahul Gandhi with party colleague

Sandeep Dixit

with a media report from 2017 with the title, "Congress leader Sandeep Dixit called Army Chief 'roadside goon'."

Some posters feature a picture of Rahul Gandhi with party leader Kanhaiya Kumar with text, "Will those who called Army as rapist honour the soldiers?" (roughly translated from Hindi).

The posters have drawn flak from BJP leaders.

BJP leader Amit Malviya called out Congress over the posters and termed it as "hypocrisy."

"Uttarakhand calls out Congress and Rahul Gandhi's hypocrisy, welcomes him with these posters enroute to the rally venue... Congress must realise that it can't malign our men in uniform and then gain political mileage in their name. Shame on such despicable politics," Malviya tweeted.

National Secretary of BJP Youth Tajinder

Pal Singh Bagga

also took to Twiiter to share the poster countering Congress' respect for General Rawat stating, "Just saw this poster on

Rahul Gandhi Rally

route in Dehradun."

BJP leader

Shehzad Jai Hind

also slammed Congress and said, "Shameless Congress party puts pics of Rahul Gandhi along with martyrs on shraddhanjali wall! Even here they can't honour soldiers without parivar bhakti? Disrespecting martyrs..Congress has DNA of disrespecting armed forces they had called Bipin Rawat ji 'Sadak ka gunda' (roadside goon)."

Reacting on the statement of Rahul Gandhi on India defeating Pakistan in just 13 days in the 1971 war as the country was united, Bhatt said, "India was united before and India is united today as well. We made history in 1971 and then again in Kargil."