'Is any respect left for lives of our soldiers?' asks Sena

The Sena asked the Defence Ministry to clarify the number of soldiers martyred since Nov 8

Hitting out at the Centre over killing of Indian soldiers on the border, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) ally Shiv Sena on Friday sought to know why there was a 'spurt' in such attacks after the November 8 announcement of demonetisation.

"While scrapping Rs 500 and 1, 000 notes, the government had said the move will break the backbone of terrorists as they are heavily dependent on high value notes for funding and carrying out terror activities. If this is true, why have terror strikes increased after November 8?" an editorial in Sena's mouthpiece Saamana said.

The Sena demanded that the Defence Ministry clarify the number of soldiers martyred since November 8.

"While the national anthem will be respected in cinema halls, the question is whether there is any respect left for the lives of our soldiers. Our jawans at the border are dying everyday. If this does not stop, a question mark will emerge on the country's defence preparedness," the Sena said.

Taking on Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar over his remarks that his ministry got a call from Pakistan "pleading" with India to stop firing, the Sena said the minister had created an impression that the neighbouring country had bowed down and there would be no more terror threats from its side.

"But, even before Parrikar completed his words, Pakistan attacked Indian camps and all peace had been lost. How do we stop the losses being suffered by our Army? First, it was Pathankot, then Uri and now Nagrota. Terrorists are blatantly spilling the blood of our soldiers," the Sena said.

It said that there were several army posts in the country which do not even have CCTV cameras, let alone sophisticated machinery.

On Tuesday, Jammu and Kashmir was rocked by two terror attacks in which seven Army personnel, including two Major-rank officers were killed. Eight security men including a BSF DIG, were injured before six heavily-armed terrorists were eliminated in a fierce encounter at Samba sector in the state.