SP Chief Mulayam expresses concern over killing of soldiers

Mulayam further said that his party was 'humanitarian' and will take the issue of national security to the Lok Sabha

Expressing concern over killing of soldiers along the border, Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday said they should be given freehand.

On Tuesday, Jammu was rocked by two terror attacks in which seven army personnel, including two Major-rank officers, were killed and eight other security-men, including a DIG of the Border Security Force, were injured, before six heavily-armed terrorists were eliminated in separate fierce encounters.

"The soldiers are being killed in sleep. When will they get a free hand? They (referring to Pakistan) are giving threat of atomic bomb. If they use it, two-three cities will get destroyed. India also has many atomic bombs and when we use, their entire country will be finished," he said.

"We don't want war," the former Defence Minister said at a function to flag off the inaugural run of Lucknow Metro.

"In war, both sides are defeated and no one wins. We will take up this issue of the country in the House (Lok Sabha). SP is a humanitarian party and does not advocate war," he said at a function.

For security of borders, Uttar Pradesh plays a major role as maximum soldiers are from the state, he said.

He also mentioned Bofors guns, which played a key role in Kargil operation in 1999, and said they were good.

Mulayam said the SP government will "never tolerate" riots as it did not believe in discrimination on basis of caste, religion and language.