According to television channels, the videos, which they had accessed from official sources, were taken by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Thermal Imaging (TI) cameras used by the Army to monitor the operation.
A day after government released video proof of surgical strikes, the government and the main opposition came face-to-face, with the Congress alleging that the BJP had “shamelessly politicized” the surgical strikes by the special forces of Army in September 2016 to win votes. An angry Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad retorted saying the Congress statements would “gladden the hearts of terrorists and their patrons across the border”.
“Let the ruling dispensation remember that the blood and sacrifice of our brave soldiers cannot become a political vote garnering tool for the Modi Government and the BJP,” Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
According to television channels, the videos, which they had accessed from official sources, were taken by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Thermal Imaging (TI) cameras used by the Army to monitor the operation. The clips showed some terrorists being killed, besides destruction of bunkers and other military constructions across the Line of Control. The video was released two days after former union minister Arun Shourie called them “farcical strikes”.
“Does the Congress believe there was a surgical strike or not? Are they saying the video is fake? Do they think the surgical strike was right or not?” Prasad told reporters. Dismissing charge of politicising the operation, he asked the Congress leaders: “Please tell me, which election is happening now, or in the near future? There are no elections at the moment.”
“There has been a sea change in the Congress's thinking... its commitment to the country's security after Rahul Gandhi elevation as Congress chief,” he said, linking controversial statements by Congress leaders to its chief.
Surjewala also questioned what impact the surgical strikes had if terror attacks continued post 2016 that resulted in the killing of at least 146 soldiers. “On one hand, Modi government and the BJP indulge in seeking credit for the sacrifice of our soldiers and surgical strike, yet the government has utterly failed to provide the direction, the vision and the policy for dealing with Pakistan and checkmating Pak-sponsored terrorism. No wonder apathy and incapacity of the Modi government has resulted in the sacrifice of 146 soldiers, more than 1600 ceasefire violations by Pakistan and 79 terrorist attacks post September 2016,” he said.
Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju said the Congress should apologise to the nation for accusing the government of using surgical strikes' video for political gains. “I am very surprised that the Congress, which ruled India for more than five decades, is speaking in the tune of separatists. The Army has done something extraordinary in the national interest by performing the surgical strike, but the Congress demanded proof. Now that video evidence has emerged, they are saying this is for publicity,” he added.
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 "Randeep Surjewala and Ravi Shankar Prasad")
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