India can't be cowed down by such blatant attack: Sonia Gandhi

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday condemned the killing of five Indian soldiers by Pakistani troops in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch District, saying that India can't be cowed down by such a blatant attack.

Urging the government to take appropriate action in the matter, Gandhi said:"The Congress party and the nation stand by the martyred soldiers. We will not be cowed down by such blatant acts of deceit."

Gandhi's response to the incident came in the wake of criticism from political parties that the Congress-led government is soft on Pakistan despite several instances of ceasefire violation by the neighbouring country.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari today assured that the Ministry of Defence would come out with an appropriate response.

"It is very unfortunate that even before the full details of the incident are in, people have started reacting in a matter which is extremely partisan. There are certain issues which are above politics. Let's ascertain all the details and I am confident that the Ministry of Defence will come out with an appropriate response," he told mediapersons here.

Tewari also requested opposition parties to stop politicising this issue. "I would like to request our friends in the opposition that there are certain issues on which you do not need to play politics," he said.

He further asserted that the UPA Government has always been unrelenting on questions of national security and said that the Government has always been more than forthcoming on issues that needed to be surmounted.

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