Surgical strikes happened earlier, too, govt tells House panel

Development comes after a bitter political fight going on between the congress and the BJP over surgical strikes

The government on Tuesday acknowledged that surgical strikes against terrorists across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir had taken place earlier also, but were not announced by the Centre.

The announcement, at a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs, comes amid a bitter political fight between the Congress and the BJP over the issue. The Congress had accused the ruling party of taking political credit for the September 29 surgical strikes, saying such actions were taken during the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government as well.

According to sources, in reply to a