"Every child in India has full faith in our forces," said Home Minister on surgical strikes
Highlights
- Congress, AAP have urged govt to prove Pak propaganda wrong
- Ministers say opposition on same side as Pak which denies strikes
- Surgical strikes on Pak terror targets across LoC launched after Uri
While claiming that they stand united with the government on its action against Pakistan, the Congress and Arvind Kejriwal today asked for evidence of the raids across the Line of Control, which have been vehemently denied by Islamabad.
Senior ministers said this places opposition leaders on the same side as Pakistan on national security and that it unforgivably undermines the army, which revealed details of the operation last Thursday, hours after soldiers returned home safely after attacking seven terrorist launch pads or staging areas in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
"Every child in India has full faith in our forces. We respect them and will continue to do so," said Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
The cross-border strikes were filmed, in part by drones, sources have said, adding that the government and top commanders will decide whether and when to release any photographs or video.
Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that at a time when political parties must present a joint front for India, Mr Kejriwal, who is the Delhi Chief Minister, "has said something that has given Pakistani media and people a chance to question the Indian army's action."
Refuting that accusation, Mr Kejriwal and the Congress said that furnishing proof would, in fact, definitively Pakistan's cover of denial. In an official statement, the Congress said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must "call Pakistan's bluff." Similarly, Mr Kejriwal said that is "convinced that strikes took place" but wants the government to rebut international media.
The Washington Post and The New York Times have run articles by journalists who were taken to villages on Pakistan's side of the Line of Control by the Pakistani army. Villagers there joined army generals in stating that India had not crossed the de facto border last week.
Critics of the opposition accuse it of making a devious and risky move, using the international reports as cover to attack the government on a matter of vital security at a moment when India has much riding on fighting cross-border terrorism and urging the world to hold Pakistan culpable of terror attacks that link back to it. Senior Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said without evidence, the strikes seem "fake".