Voicing anguish over Pathankot terror strike, former Union minister Manish Tewari on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him "Mian Modi" and demanded that India should immediately call off foreign secretary level talks with Pakistan.
"Mian Modi should decide Nobel Prize or National Security? What is PM waiting for? more Terror ATTACKS! Call off Foreign Secretary Talks NOW! ASAP," Tewari, a former Congress MP from Punjab, tweeted.
In another tweet, he attacked the NDA government saying, "Uffa (Ufa) followed by Gurdaspur Lahore by Pathankot & Mazar i Sharif! Is desire for Nobel so overpowering that Mian Modi & (Nawaz) Sharief will still tango? (sic)"
At the official briefing, senior spokesperson Ajay Maken, however, evaded a direct reply on whether Congress favours foreign secretary level talks between the two countries or not and merely insisted that terror and talks cannot go together.
"I am not saying that. Operations are still on. We are pointing errors in the government's handling of the incident," Maken said on being asked whether he was suggesting that the foreign secretary level talks should be called off. Insisting that Pakistan's hand was evident in the Pathankot incident, Maken had earlier said, "Talks and terror cannot go side by side. Government has to come out openly to tell the very facts. We have always been of the view that terror and talks cannot go hand in hand." The talks are scheduled for January 14 and 15.
Attacking the government on handling of the country's relations with Pakistan vis- -vis Pathankot attack, he said, "In such a situation, we want to know why the PM, Defence Minister and Home Minister are scared of naming Pakistan in their statements?" Maken also said that there seems to be no effort to isolate Pakistan diplomatically, like the UPA did post 26/11 when India got international community to join it in seeking action against terror emanating from Pakistan's soil.
He rued that "today neither PM, nor Defence Minister or Home Minister, thought its important to go to Pathankot, assess the situation and inform the nation." Former Law Minister and another party spokesperson Ashwani Kumar said the attack was an "ominous warning" and a "wake up call" to strengthen our defense preparedness.
"Our foreign policy has to transcend optics and must instead advance our strategic objectives," Kumar said.
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