War of words between BJP, Congress on surgical strikes

New Delhi: Amid the war of words between the BJP and Congress over anti-terror surgical strikes, the main opposition party on Thursday came out with a list of six anti-terror surgical strikes carried out during UPA rule, asserting that it never tried to take political advantage from military operations.

The Congress released the list after BJP leader Arun Jaitley took a jibe at the opposition party, saying its surgical strikes were "invisible and unknown". The UPA government carried out six surgical strikes - Bhattal sector in Poonch (June 19, 2008); Sharda sector, across Neelam River Valley, in Kel (August 30-September 1, 2011);  Sawan Patra checkpost (January 6, 2013); Nazapir sector (July 27-28, 2013); Neelam Valley (August 6, 2013); and one on December 23, 2013, Congress spokesperson Rajeev Shukla said.

He even listed two surgical strikes carried out under the previous BJP-led NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. These were Nadala Enclave, across the Neelam River (January 21, 2000) and Baroh sector in Poonch (September 18, 2003), Mr Shukla said.

The war of words between the two parties started after former PM Manmohan Singh, in an interview said that multiple surgical strikes took place during UPA rule. Attacking the Congress, Jaitley said the Manmohan Singh government did not act against terrorists after the Mumbai terror attack in 2008 even as security forces were ready to target them.The UPA government in fact released 25 terrorists as a "goodwill gesture" and one of them was later involved in the Pathankot terror attack, he alleged.