It has been widely alleged that the Prime Minister continued to shoot a BBC documentary film in Corbett National Park, even after receiving information of the Pulwama attack. While the Opposition had raised the issue first in a press conference on Thursday, several media reports appear to corroborate the claim.
Senior journalist Punya Prasun Vajpayee reported on Surya Samachar that regional papers in Uttarakhand have detailed reports on PM’s visit to Corbett. According to the reports, cited by Bajpayee, PM Modi reached Dehradun airport at 7 am, waited at the airport for several hours because of heavy rains, following which he boarded an army helicopter and reached Jim Corbett.
The Telegraph reported, citing an anonymous Uttarakhand official that the PM entered Jim Corbett at around 2:30 pm. Between 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm, he reportedly took a jungle safari, took a picture of a deer and short the documentary film. The pictures of the PM’s frolicks in the national park have since gone viral.
Further, Telegraph reported that Modi then addressed a rally in Rudrapur, 110 km away, over mobile phone, during which he attacked the Opposition over farm loan waivers. A DD News live video stream from the day shows BJP leaders sitting on the stage as Modi addresses the rally via phone. Modi is heard saying he is sorry to have not been able to address the rally in person. The DD News video has a ticker that shows the time as 5.09 pm.
The PM makes no mention of the Pulwama terror attack which had taken place at 3:10 pm.
Additionally, a report in the Dainik Jagran confirms that the prime minister addressed the above rally in Rudrapur via phone and apologised for not being there in person.
Congress party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, had questioned the “priorities” of the PM in a press conference on Thursday. When the nation was in mourning, “PM Modi was shooting for a film like a Bollywood star, enjoying a boat ride, when the nation was picking up the mortal remains of our jawans,” Surjewala had said.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi also hit-out at the PMon Friday, referring to him as the “Prime Time Minister” for shooting the film as the nation was mourning the death of the CRPF jawans.
Also Read: Modi Shot Film & Enjoyed Boat Rides While Nation Mourned: Congress In Scathing Attack