Udupi: Our airstrikes on Balakot did destroy terror camps, says defence minister

Udupi: Defence minister Nirmala Seetharaman was categorical here on Tuesday that the country's airstrikes after the Pulwama sucide attack had destroyed the camps of terrorists that trained suicide bombers with the help of the Pakistan army.

"We had intelligence information that more suicide attacks like Pulwama were possible in other parts of the country," she added, addressing the BJP's Vijay Sankalp yatra here.

"After Pulwama we waited for 10 to 12 days for Pakistan to act as it too claims to be a victim of terrorism. But when it failed to take any action against the terrorists we destroyed their camps. Our Prime Minister took strong action and has proved we have zero tolerance for terrorism. We were not silent like the UPA was after the Mumbai attack. Had the UPA government acted then, it could have acted as a deterrent," she said.

Accusing Congress leaders of abusing the armed forces, she added, "If a senior leader calls the army chief a street goonda, another senior leader from Karnataka, who is known for his writing on Ramayana, calls our Air Force chief a liar. And a leader like Mani Shankar Aiyer goes to Pakistan and asks for support to oust Modi. Such things hurt. Such a party should not come to power in Delhi."

Referring to the Nyunyatam Aay Yojna, Ms Seetharaman attacked the Congress for calling it 'Nyay.'

"The Congress speaks about poverty eradication only during elections. It has been talking about 'Garibi Hatao,' since 1971. But it is not concerned about eradicating poverty and is only paying lip service to it," she contended.