The BJP MP from Gurdaspur, Vinod Khanna, who landed in his constituency after a long time, has come under attack from opposition parties for not being here during the terrorist attack at the Pathankot Air Force Station. Khanna visited the constituency a couple of days ago.
While the MP visited the families of two martyrs killed in the attack on the air base, his political adversaries alleged that he was in Pathankot only to attend the wedding of the daughter of his poll strategist, Samrendra Sharma.
Khanna, however, cited “multiple health problems” for his absence in the aftermath of the Pathankot attack. “I have not been well. I have been in hospital for six months. They (leaders slamming him) do not know this. That is why I could not come to Pathankot. My health has improved. I am 80 per cent better now. I have come to my constituency to fulfil my responsibility,” Khanna told The Indian Express on Wednesday. He denied that he had come specially to attend the wedding. “There are going to be functions and weddings in my constituency and I attend them. I have specifically not come to attend the marriage,” he maintained.
Former Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa, however, alleged that the timing of Khanna’s visit clearly suggested that he primarily came to “attend the wedding”.
“He is visiting the constituency a month and half after the Pathankot attack. Our sympathies are with him if he is unwell. In fact, during elections also, he was unwell. He should not have contested in the first place if he is not able to visit the constituency. Even when the Dinanagar attack occurred, he had visited the constituency much later,” Bajwa said. “Pakistani jihadis have visited his constituency more than him. Between the Dinanagar and Pathankot terrorist attacks, he has only come once, while jihadis have been here twice,” the Congress leader added.
When the Dinanagar terrorist attack took place on July 27, 2015, Khanna came to the constituency on August 10, 2015, but not before posters of him being missing appeared in Pathankot. Khanna was said to be abroad for treatment at the time of the attack. He had tweeted condemning it.
“Neither did he come here nor has he gone to Parliament. What right does he have to enjoy the privileges of an MP, when he is not able to fulfil his responsibility. If he continues to remain ill, it is high time he resigned,” said Bajwa, who had lost to Khanna in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
The Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab convenor Sucha Singh Chhotepur too did not mince words. “If he was unwell and was not able to visit the constituency, he could have sent his wife or any other representative with a message for the people of the constituency after the Pathankot terrorist attack. It is due to politicians like him that the electorate gets disillusioned with politicians in general. At the time of seeking votes, they will say that they are servants and the voters are masters. But roles are reversed, the moment such leaders get elected,” Chhotepur said.