 "People who have spent their lives in dalali, know what it is: Manohar Parrikar")
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday lashed out at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi over his "dalali" remarks, even as he decried attempts to politicise the army's successful surgical strikes across the Line of Control in September.
He said that the people of India did not require proof of the counter-terror operation.
"Some see dalali in this... Submarine deal in 2002, there was dalali scam. Then in a helicopter deal, there was dalali. After that in the Pilatus training planes there is a dalali allegation and Emerr planes, there was a dalali allegation. Those people who have spent most of their life in dalali, they know what is dalali," Parrikar said while speaking at a public meeting organised by the BJP in Mapusa town, a short distance from Panaji.
The meeting was organised to honour the Indian Armed Forces for successfully conducting the surgical strikes.
"The BJP government does not know these words and therefore we have no interest in using Indian Army's valour for political purposes. We can see the performance of the Indian Army over the last 65 years," he said.
"There are some traitors in politics. Army sacrifice should not be politicised by anyone. But we will tell people, that Modi government has done what for 25 years, the political leadership was struggling to do," Parrikar said.
"I do not think people in this country need proof of a surgical strike. The chaos which our neighbouring country is in (is proof enough). With the exchange of speeches there and the conversations, one can understand that the country's soldiers have responded appropriately. Those who are hurt, shout. Those who aren't, do not," Parrikar said.