Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said the government must stop pretending to be the Indian Army. He added that politicians who say they cannot be questioned are dangerous.

Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tweet in which he had condemned Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav for raising doubts on the Pulwama attack, Akhilesh Yadav tweeted: “The sacrifices of our armed forces should never be questioned. To ask questions of politicians in a democracy is our fundamental right. This government needs to stop pretending to be the Indian Army. Politicians who say they cannot be questioned are dangerous.”

Earlier in the day, the prime minister had said the Opposition was the “natural habitat of terror apologists” and those who question the armed forces. He was responding to Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav who claimed that the paramilitary personnel who died in the Pulwama terror attack last month were “killed for votes”. “This reprehensible statement by a senior leader like Ram Gopal Ji insults all those who have given their lives in protecting Kashmir,” Modi said. “It humiliates the families of our martyrs.”

Modi had also criticised the Congress after its leader Sam Pitroda questioned the toll in the Balakot air strike and the Indian government’s response to the Pulwama terror attack. “Loyal courtier of Congress’ royal dynasty admits what the nation already knew – Congress was unwilling to respond to forces of terror,” Modi tweeted in response to an interview Pitroda gave to ANI. “This is a New India- we will answer terrorists in a language they understand and with interest!”