Surgical strikes: Modi govt appropriating Army's credit, says Digvijay

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh today accused the BJP-led central government of trying to take credit for the September, 2016 surgical strikes and, in the process, lowering the importance of the Army.

"The (Narendra) Modi government is propagating as if it had carried out the surgical strikes. This type of propaganda is an attempt to lower the importance of the Army," he told PTI here.

Hailing the Army, Singh said, "The Army should get the credit for the good work (surgical strikes)."

He claimed that a surgical strike was carried out during the previous Congress-led UPA regime as well.

"A surgical strike has not taken place for the first time. Such an operation was carried out during the (rule of the) UPA government as well. But the UPA regime did not take credit for it," Singh said.

 

Earlier in the day, the Congress accused the Modi government and the BJP of politicising the surgical strikes after a video of the same was released.

The party said the blood and sacrifice of the country's brave soldiers could not be a vote-garnering tool for the saffron party.

At a press conference in New Delhi, Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala charged that while on one hand the Modi government was seeking credit for the sacrifice and valour of the armed forces, on the other, it had failed to provide direction and vision in dealing with Pakistan.

The BJP hit back with Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad rejecting the opposition party's allegations at a press conference.

Rejecting the Congress's claims that the Modi government was politicising the surgical strikes, Prasad said if the BJP wanted to draw political mileage, then the video, purportedly showing the Army's operation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), would have been released at the time of elections in states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat or Karnataka.

He further added that Army officers connected with the surgical strikes had confirmed the video's authenticity.