Chandigarh, May 6

Under fire over his "poll stunt" remark, Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi on Monday said he was proud of the country's soldiers but targeted the Centre over the 2019 Pulwama terror strike, saying the government could not ascertain who carried out the attack.

The former Punjab chief minister on Sunday called the Poonch terror attack in which an IAF soldier was killed a "stunt" meant to make the BJP win the Lok Sabha election.

The remark by the Congress candidate from Jalandhar seat triggered a row with Union minister Anurag Thakur asking the Congress leadership to seek an apology from Channi for insulting soldiers with this deplorable statement.

In a video message on Monday, Channi said, "We are proud of our soldiers who protect our country."

Referring to his statement made on Sunday, Channi said ahead of the last parliamentary polls, 40 jawans were killed but the government could not yet ascertain who carried out the terror attack.

"Who was responsible for that attack?" he asked.

Forty Central Reserve Police Force troopers died in a terror attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14, 2019.

"Again the elections have come and again our jawans have been attacked," said Channi as he was referring to the terror attack in Poonch.

"I want to ask the government who are those people who get such attacks done. Why don't you bring them forward? Why does intelligence failure take place," he said.

Channi said Sunil Jakhar, who was earlier with the Congress and now is with the BJP, had then demanded the resignation of the prime minister over the death of 40 soldiers.

"Today again a soldier got martyred and I want to ask Jakhar ji what is your stand now," he said.

"Why are our soldiers getting martyred and why is there intelligence failure of the government?" he asked.