 "Army soldiers patrol near the highly militarized Line of Control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan, in Pallanwal sector, about 75 kilometers from Jammu")
The Congress on Wednesday attacked the Narendra Modi government for denying that surgical strikes-like military operations also took place in the past.
This comes a day after Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar reportedly informed parliament's Standing Committee on External Affairs about surgical strikes having taken place in the past as well.
Asserting that the Congress never doubted the September 28-29 surgical strikes across the Line of Control, party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the BJP's continued bid to politcise the defence force's action.
"The government shouldn't deny that this (surgical strikes) happened before. While we support the operation, they should be magnanimous enough to say that this is not the first time that this country has conducted these strikes," Singhvi told the media here.
"The Foreign Secretary in precise terms has said that surgical strikes have happened before. We have no reason to not believe his precise assertions," said Singhvi referring to the parliamentary panel being informed about previous surgical strikes-like military operations.
"Does it look good for the Defence Minister of this country to be directly contradicted by none other than the Foreign Secretary?"
"Which one of them is prevaricating? The Foreign Secretary has spoken in measured and precise terms," said Singhvi.
This kind of prevaricating only to score brownie points is unfortunate because it paints the nation in a bad light, he said.
"While the Prime Minister joins us in saying this issue shouldn't be politicised, it's happening under his nose by his colleagues," the Congress spokesperson said.
"Why has not the Prime Minister mentioned even once about the posters dotting Uttar Pradesh, which politicise these strikes," Singhvi asked.
