New Delhi, April 4: Charged of appeasing separatists and "tukde-tukde gang" through its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2019, the Congress on Thursday struck back at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Defending its promise to review the imposition of AFSPA in frontier regions, Congress veteran P Chidambaram asked whether the government is supporting the alleged crimes being committed under the law.

Chidambaram's remarks were targeted against Union Minister Arun Jaitley, who has described the Congress' manifesto as a vision document which would eventually lead to the "balkanisation of India".

Chidambaram, who has held the portfolios of Home and Finance during the 10-year UPA rule, asked Jaitley to explain why he did not oppose the repeal of AFSPA from Tripura, Meghalaya and partially from Arunachal Pradesh.

"Is Mr Arun Jaitley supporting 'enforced disappearance, sexual violence and torture'?We say that in these three cases there should be no immunity under AFSPA. What does Mr Jaitley say," asked the former Union Minister.

"Why has Mr Arun Jaitley not answered the questions on withdrawal of AFSPA from Tripura (2015), Meghalaya (2018) and parts of Arunachal Pradesh (1-4-2019)," he asked.

Chidambaram also countered the assertion that the Congress is hand-in-glove with the so-called tukde-tukde gang -- a term used to refer to student activists and civil society groups alleging excesses being committed against the civilians in frontier regions.

"There is no tukde tukde gang in the Congress. There is only a flip flop gang in the BJP," he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 04, 2019 04:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).