Azam Khan has sparked a row with his comments on the Kargil war
An Uttar Pradesh politician's comment that a Muslim won the 1999 Kargil war for India has ignited a row and caught the Election Commission's attention.
The Election Commission has asked for the audio of a speech by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, who said at a rally on Tuesday, "The peaks of Kargil were conquered not by a Hindu, but Muslim soldiers."
He was speaking in Ghaziabad bordering Delhi, where former army chief VK Singh is a candidate and a large number of former soldiers are voters.
Facing criticism for that comment today, Azam Khan questioned, "What is wrong with the statement? It should be welcomed. Why can't we talk about contributions of Muslims for the country?"
The BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "There can be nothing more unfortunate than categorizing our martyred soldiers on the basis of their religion. This statement is demotivating for the force. I condemn this."
His party's candidate for Ghaziabad, General Singh, had said on Tuesday, "Indians won the Kargil battle for India."
Ghaziabad will vote on Thursday for the nine-phase national election that ends on May 12. The votes will be counted on May 16.