Digvijaya Singh in firefighting mode as surgical strike row rages

Amid the raging controversy over Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh seeking proof of the 2019 surgical strikes, party leader Jairam Ramesh came down heavily on the media on Tuesday, saying the party has already made its stand clear and now the queries should be directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Time for damage control

Talking to the mediapersons during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu region, Singh too made an effort to put an end to the controversy, stating, “I have got the greatest regard for the defence forces.”

The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi resumed from Sitni bypass, Nagrota, on Tuesday. A visibly perturbed Ramesh was reluctant to respond to media queries and simply said that they have answered all the questions. “Congress has said whatever it wanted to. I tweeted yesterday regarding the same. I do not want to say anything other than this,” he said.

Surgical strikes during UPA regime

Interestingly, Ramesh had claimed on Monday that surgical strikes were carried out even during the UPA regime. “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,” Ramesh tweeted.

Also read: Digvijaya Singh questions surgical strikes; BJP calls it an ‘insult’ of Army

Poonawalla terms it ‘self-goal’

Meanwhile, political analyst and Congress supporter Tehseen Poonawalla strongly condemned Digvijaya Singh’s remark dubbing it a ‘self-goal’ for the party. “The same people keep doing the same things and scoring self-goals. On one hand, the Hon’ble PM is naming 21 islands after those decorated with #ParamVirChakra and on the other hand, on #ParakramDivas, questioning surgical strikes? It’s the same people, every time, destroying the party!” he said in the tweet.

Digvijaya stirs hornet’s nest again

The trouble broke out for the Congress when Singh, while addressing a public meeting during the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Monday, said there is no proof the 2019 surgical strike against Pakistan.

On the other hand, the BJP alleged that the opposition party has been “blinded” by its “hate” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has “insulted” the armed forces. The ruling party also alleged that such statements are made at the behest of the top leadership of Congress.