Sitharaman protests reporter's 'sarcastic' question on surgical strike

A reporter asked the defence minister at a press conference in Delhi why the NDA government was "tom-tomming" the operation two years later.

Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday protested at what she said was the "sarcastic tone" of a reporter's question about the 2016 surgical strikes carried out by the Army on terror launch pads across the Line of Control.

A reporter asked her at a press conference in Delhi why the NDA government was "tom-tomming" the operation two years later. "I got hurt by the way--in a very sarcastic tone you asked the question," said Sitharaman. "The word you used--bin bajaye (tom-tomming)--I understand Hindi."

During the ongoing campaign for Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah have repeatedly