The BJP on Thursday alleged the Congress is advocating for Naxals for votes as it has sensed its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate on Wednesday described Naxals killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh as “martyrs” and raised questions over the action against the extremists.

Security personnel gunned down 29 Naxals in Kanker, Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, in the biggest encounter ever in the state which has been facing the Naxal menace for the past three decades.

“We have seen a very important operation in Chhattisgarh in which 29 Naxals were eliminated by security personnel. It was indeed a big achievement for the security forces,” Poonawalla said.

“Instead of welcoming the action by the security forces, the Congress has done what is expected of them. However, it is unthinkable that it claimed that the Naxals were essentially martyrs. It put a question mark on the bravery of our security forces,” he charged.

“Supriya Shrinate described the Naxals as martyrs and expressed sympathy for them. The Congress leader said that a thorough probe should be conducted into this (operation),” Poonawalla said as he played a video clip of Shrinate’s comments.

The BJP leader said that Shrinate exposed the real face of the opposition INDIA bloc. “Congress leaders are advocating for Naxals as they are losing in the elections. They are not hesitant to stand by terrorists while opposing (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi,” Poonawalla said.

The number of fatalities in Tuesday’s operation was the highest suffered by Naxals in a single encounter in the history of Chhattisgarh’s fight against Left Wing Extremism (LWE).