Youth Cong puts up flexes hailing Indira's war management

The Karnataka Youth Congress put up flexes and banners across prominent locations in the city on Monday night hailing former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s war credentials against Pakistan. 

Slogans on the banners and flexes included “India missing Indira,” “Indira Gandhi didn’t need hashtags, she made history,” “Instead of mere talk, India needs Indira’s steps,” “The children of Mother India have now remembered Durga,” and so on. 

On Tuesday, the Karnataka Congress shared a poster on its X (formerly Twitter) handle, crediting Indira for her “strength, courage, self-esteem, determination and able leadership.”

The posters and flexes hinted at the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, fought under Indira’s premiership, which ended in a decisive victory for India and resulted in the formation of Bangladesh. 

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) - the predecessor of the BJP - had hailed Indira’s leadership during the 1971 war and called her “Durga Mata.”

JD(S) slams Youth Cong

Taking exception to the move, the JD(S) slammed the youth Congress. “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has himself said that the army should be credited for the war. However, the Youth Congress is trying to deny credit to the army and is misusing it for political mileage.”