Digvijaya demands 'proof' of surgcal strikes bjp on offensive congess says 'views personal'

Digvijaya demands 'proof' of surgcal strikes bjp on offensive congess says 'views personal'

Former MP CM, raised the question at Jammu leg of BharatJodo Yatra. BJP has slammed the move, saying 'siding with the enemy' a Congress trait. Congress says his views personal.

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has yet again raised questions about the authenticity of the 2016 surgical strike during the Jammu leg of the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra. His party, however, distanced itself from the statement after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came down heavily on the Congress.

The government had said at the time that these strikes were conducted as aresponse to the Pulwama terror attacks. Pakistan had, however, denied it.

‘They (central government) talk about surgical strikes and that they have killed so many of them but there is no proof. Theyre ruling by building a web of lies,’ Singh said at the rally.

After the speech, he posted a video on his Twitter account elaborating his concerns.

‘From where did the terrorist get 300 kg RDX in Pulwama incident? Devendra Singh DSP was caught with terrorists but then why was he released? We also want to know about the friendship between the Prime Minister of Pakistan and India,’ he asked in the follow-up video.

The BJP came down heavily on the Congress after Singh's statement.

The BJP came down heavily on the Congress after Singh's statement.

‘Claims of uniting people, and spreading love and peace during Rahul Gandhi's Yatra is an act for namesake, but the actual motive is of Breaking India. The statements by Digvijay Singh are an example of the same and the language used by Singh signifies it is Bharat Todo Yatra,’ the BJP said in a statement.

BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya said that Singh was ‘speaking the language of Pakistan's deep state’.

Former Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill, who jumped ship to the BJP last year, said that ‘siding with the enemy' had become a ‘trait’ of the Congress.

Former DGP of Jammu and Kashmir, Shesh Paul Vaid, also slammed Digvijaya for his comments.

Shesh Paul Vaid

@spvaid • Follow

Digvijay Singh questions surgical strikes.

Statements made by imbecile congress leaders, calling Osama-bin-Laden, 'Osama-ji' has ruined the congress party. Boggles my mind, @RahulGandhi still wants to associate with such idiots. We need opposition with constructive criticism.

The Congress has distanced itself from Digvijaya's comments.

‘The views expressed by senior leader Digvijaya Singh are his own and do not reflect the position of Congress. Surgical strikes were carried out before 2014 by the UPA government. Congress has supported and will continue to support all military actions that are in the national interest,’ Congress general secretary in-charge for communications Jairam Ramesh said.

Past backfires

This is not the Congress's first bout with this line of questioning. The opposition's bid to ask for 'proof' of the surgical strikes has backfired in the past as well.

In 2016, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) head Arvind Kejriwal had similarly asked for ‘proof’ of the strikes. Kejriwal eventually had to clarify that he'd asked for proof to counter Pakistan's claims that such a strike did not take place.

The same year, Digvijaya and his Congress colleagues P. Chidambaram and Sanjay Nirupam also demanded proof of the surgical strikes. Nirupam even went on to call the strikes ‘fake’. The Congress, at the time, distanced itself from Nirupam's comments, but notably did not say anything about the other two leaders.

‘Those leaders who say that if Pakistan is demanding evidence about the surgical strikes they should be given the evidence, such people should take the citizenship of Pakistan,’ then-union minister Uma Bharti had said at the time.