Kamal Kanta Batra, mother of the Capt Vikram Batra contesting the election on the AAP ticket from Hamirpur(HP)

[Sir john]

:hmmm:

Yeh Dil Maange More†remark of Kargil hero Capt Vikram Batra by Narendra Modi at his election rallies in the hill state today created a flutter with the parents of the martyr taking serious objecting to politicisation of the sacrifice of their son. Kamal Kanta Batra, mother of the martyr, asked the Gujarat Chief Minister to desist from politicising her son’s martyrdom and urged all pseudo-patriots like him to leave the families of martyrs alone. “The BJP, quoting my son, is nothing but shameless rhetoric to garner the support of Army men and their families,†said Batra, AAP candidate from Hamirpur, on the reference made to her son by Modi at the election rallies he addressed at the Vikram Batra ground in Palampur and later in Mandi and Solan today. Kamal Kanta was speaking at a roadshow here in the presence of AAP leader Gul Panag, who campaigned for Kamal Kanta here. “If the BJP and the Congress have so much respect for martyrs and their families, then why did they field a candidate against Vikram’s mother in Hamirpur,†remarked Gul on Modi’s remarks. Palampur is the home town of the Kargil hero and his parents live here but his mother Kamal Kanta, a retired teacher, is contesting the election on the AAP ticket from Hamirpur. Using the slogan “Yeh Dil Mange Moreâ€, used by Vikram Batra after capturing the Tiger Hill during the Kargil conflict, Modi exhorted people of Himachal to support him and said he wanted all four seats in favour of the BJP. “I abhor playing politics over the sacrifice of soldiers and politicians doing a “Kodak moment†with martyrs' families and forgetting them soon after,†she remarked. She asked three questions from Modi on his so-called love for martyrs and their families. “The quoting of my son is another event in this chain of cheap politics,†she lamented. “No one came to the support of Kargil martyr Lt Saurabh Kalia's family whose mutilated body had been sent by Pakistan to India,†she quipped. She said the successive governments at the Centre failed to raise the issue at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). “I want to ask all these leaders indulging in vote bank politics where they were when my son was fighting in Kargil,†she said. She further accused the NDA government of compromising the Army interest in scams such as the coffin procurement scam and the badly planned Operation Parakram ,†she said. She asked Modi to spell out his stand on these issues rather than eye the serving and retired soldiers and their families as mere vote bank. “Army men and their families are inadequately represented in Parliament. I'm making an attempt to represent them. For all his “respectâ€, why doesn't he withdraw his chargesheeted BJP candidate Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur,†she said turning the table on him. There are more than three retired and serving soldiers in Himachal.

[bulbul]

No wonder

[randomGuy]

Kamal Kant Batra, 69, is running for Parliament from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh as a candidate of the Aam Aadmi Party. In 1999, her son, Captain Vikram Batra, was killed in the Kargil War. He was 24. "Yeh dil maange more," he had declared famously in an interview to NDTV, appropriating an advertising slogan at the time to convey the courage of the Indian soldier. Dear Mr Modi: In your campaigning, you have used the name and slogan- yeh dil maange more- of my Sher beta. People call him the Sher Shah of Kargil. He was just 24 when he was killed in the Kargil war. Now you are using Vikram's name and slogan. I ask you - in 15 years, how come neither you nor the BJP used either? Just for the elections, you have suddenly remembered it and are using the sacrifice of a brave soldier. This is corrupt politics. Mr Modi, if you really care for the army and respect martyrs, a soldier's family for you should be like God. If I were in your place, I would have withdrawn the BJP candidate who is running against me. If you respect Captain Batra's family, you should think of me like his mother. If you used "yeh dil maange more" to praise my son...please realise...it is not enough to praise him...you should think of what can be done to honour a martyr's family. Why was no one from a soldier's family given a chance by the BJP earlier to run as a candidate? For me, this is not a fight with an individual. It is a fight against corruption. People want relief from corruption. All of India knows Vikram Batra. In some villages, Aam Aadmi Party workers say "this is Shahid Vikram's mother." There is nothing wrong with that. He did sacrifice his life for the nation. He would be proud that I want to serve his country. Even if my son's name comes up, isn't it my right? Your name is everywhere in this campaign. Only Arvind Kejriwal's party thought of honouring us this way, asking us if we would like to contest. I want to help people. I am not just a woman but a citizen. I have the right to join politics. Every citizen has. When I got the offer from AAP to contest the election from Himachal Pradesh, I could not refuse. Other parties have failed us. Sincerely, Kamal Kant Batra.

http://www.ndtv.com/elections/article/election-news/open-letter-to-narendra-modi-from-captain-vikram-batra-s-mother-515810

[velu]

she should sue pepsi as well :facepalm:

[someone]

This is a response letter posted on an Indian army fan page,

Dear mother, I addressed you as “mother” for two reasons- one because you are of my mother’s age, and secondly because you are mother of the brave heart who sacrificed his life for each among us. I read your open letter to Narendra Modi. And I am not here to defend him, as he is the best person to defend himself. On the onset, let me put it straightly to you that this open letter blog is ill drafted. I am sure the party strategists drafted it for you, because I do not believe that you will start a letter with a blatant lie as the opening sentence. You wrote “In your campaigning, you have used the name and slogan- yeh dil maange more- of my Sher beta. People call him the Sher Shah of Kargil. “. With all respects to your son and our hero Vikram Batra, I humbly inform you that the slogan which you claims to be that of Vikram Batra is not actually his. It was coined by Anuja Chauhan for Pepsi Co. in the year 1998. If your open letter started with a lie, then what follows are pure political statements. “Mr Modi, if you really care for the army and respect martyrs, a soldier’s family for you should be like God. If I were in your place, I would have withdrawn the BJP candidate who is running against me” . You are absolutely right when you say that soldiers family for us(not just Modi) should be like God. But have you seen any God fighting elections? Do Gods join any political party ? No. It seems that you have seen your political rivals just like a soldier sees another soldier across the border as his enemy. The elections in India is not a war between rivals, it is a celebration of democracy. If you deserve to win, people will elect you despite BJP fielding its candidate. See the BJP candidate who is fighting election as one among you and not as one against you. The full reading of your open letter can be summed up like this “Dont use my son’s name and slogan, I have the right to use it. If you want to use it, withdraw your candidate against me”. It seems that you are using your Son’s name for political bargain. As a citizen of this country, I request you not to do this and not to allow anyone to use you and your Son’s name like they did this time. I apologize if I have hurt you in this reply letter. I need your blessings too. Hope you will correct yourself and never be mislead by your party members. Thank You

Pointless issue and a disappointment for democratic India. AAP really needs to rethink its strategy.