'Leader of Pakistani propaganda' Rahul Gandhi rubbing salt on wounds of cross border shelling victims: BJP

New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for calling the Pakistan Army's "act of terror" in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch a "tragedy", accusing him of rubbing salt on the wounds of the victims of cross border shelling and giving a cover fire to Islamabad with his remark.

Gandhi is more suited for the role of the "leader of Pakistani propaganda" than the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, the BJP charged and asked the Congress leader to stop doing "comedy in the name of tragedy".

This came after Gandhi met the victims of the cross-border shelling by Pakistani troops in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and described the damage caused as a "big tragedy", pledging to highlight their plight at the national level.

Taking serious exception to the Congress leader's remark, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, "Rahul Gandhi in his statement said that what happened in Poonch was a tragedy. Rahul Gandhi is calling (Pakistan Army's) act of terror an act of tragedy."

The entire country is shocked and upset with his remarks, he told reporters here.

The BJP spokesperson said the Pakistani Army with its "terrorist mindset" rained bullets and killed unarmed innocent civilians, including in Poonch.

They also fired at Gurudwara and the devotees, who were performing puja there, he added.

"Rahul Gandhi indulges in white washing, calls an act of terror an act of tragedy," Poonawalla charged said "you have rubbed salt on our wounds".

The BJP spokesperson alleged that the Congress and Gandhi family have "always whitewashed" Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in India and gave a "cover fire" to Islamabad's criminal actions.

"The Congress did so by blaming Hindutva for the 2008 Mumbai terror strike, gave a clean chit to Pakistan in the Samjhauta Express blast case calling it Hindutva terror, Randeep Surjewala (Congress leader) had given clean chit to Pakistan calling Pulwama terror strike an insider job and job of home grown terrorists," he said.

Within 24 hours of the Pahalgam terror strike last month, Robert Vadra, Rahul Gandhi's family member and husband of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, had put its blame on Hindutva, Poonawalla charged.

"Rahul Gandhi and his family always provide cover fire to Pakistan's terrorism, Pakistan's misdeeds and Pakistan's criminal actions," the BJP spokesperson alleged.

"All these are neither a coincidence nor any experiment, but the Congress' direct cooperation to Pakistan," he said.