Mumbai: In a statement that is likely to open a Pandora’s box, Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar cast doubts over the Congress’ claims of conducting surgical strikes across the Line of Control during the UPA period.
“From whatever I have learnt, there was no surgical strike anytime earlier,” he said on Wednesday. Speaking at an event hosted by the Forum For Integrated National Security at Bandra, Mr Parrikar said such surgical strikes had never been carried out before. “What they are probably quoting is action taken by Border Action Teams. These are common practices, in which local commanders sometimes take punitive action against opponents who have been troubling them in order to settle scores. But the government had never endorsed such action, and it was thus a covert operation, which is carried out without anyone’s knowledge. The report is issued subsequently,” Mr Parrikar said.
After the Uri terror attack last month, which claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers, the Indian Army on September 29 had carried out surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK), in which it claimed to have killed several terrorists.
Parrikar gives strikes’ credit to Army
Following the recent surgical strikes in PoK, the Congress had claimed that its UPA government, too, had conducted surgical strikes, but never made the same public. While Mr Parrikar rejected the Congress' claims, he further said that the September 29 strikes were a single, one-time operation.
"In this case, a decision was taken and conveyed by the government and finally executed by the Indian Army. The operation clearly indicated the intent of the Indian Army."
The defence minister, however, refused to take credit for the surgical strikes and instead attributed it to the people of India and the army. "If we had to take political credit for it, I would have announced it. But we did not. It is the Indian armed forces' director general of military operations who announced the outcome, and gave information about the action taken by the Indian military. The 127 crore people of the country and the Indian armed forces deserve the credit for the surgical strikes," said Mr Parrikar.
Bombay vs Mumbai
Meanwhile, during his speech, Mr Manohar Parrikar raised many eyebrows by referring to Mumbai by its colonial name of ‘Bombay’. “I have studied in IIT and Bombay is almost my second home,” he said, and then immediately reverted back to using the name ‘Mumbai’.
“I take this name because IIT's name is still IIT-Bombay and has not been changed. I hope it is taken in a lighter vein and there are no protests outside the venue over this,” he said.
