Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, at a public rally in Maheshwaram in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana said “support of terrorism was a bad game”, urging that “everyone should oppose terror” and “avoid indulging in this game.” While he did not refer to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, he did go on to mention the strong retaliatory action taken by the Indian government after the terror attacks in Pulwama and the strong stand taken against terror by the Modi government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first heads of government to express solidarity with Israel after the terror attacks on that country by Hamas. The Congress had, in its working committee, also emphasised the need for a political solution to the Israel-Palestinian issue and its statement had avoided mentioning Hamas.
While he chose to speak on terror in Maheshwaram, it was the Huzurabad Assembly seat, the site of a keenly contested bypoll after sitting MLA Eatala Rajender left the Bharatha Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to join the BJP in 2020, was chosen by Mr. Singh to begin his campaign for Assembly polls in Telangana and launch a scathing attack on the BRS on the issue of corruption and the Delhi excise case.
The BJP is yet to declare candidates for the Assembly polls in Telangana (with a meeting of the Central Election Committee likely on October 19) but that didn’t stop Mr. Singh from canvassing for Mr. Rajender, chief of the BJP’s election management committee.
