Surgical strikes: Digvijaya Singh’s remark was ridiculous, says Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday (January 24) strongly criticised his party colleague Digvijaya Singh’s statement yesterday, questioning the veracity of the Narendra Modi government’s claims over the 2016 surgical strike by the Indian Armed Forces against Pakistan.

Addressing a public meeting in Jammu on Monday during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra, of which he is also the national coordinator, Digvijaya had said:  “They talk about the surgical strike; that we killed so many people but there is no proof. They are ruling only through peddling lies.” 

Also read: How Digvijaya has jinxed Bharat Jodo’s success with surgical strike remarks

At a press conference on Tuesday, Rahul said: “I am sorry to say this about a senior leader but what he said is a ridiculous thing…I do not agree with it at all.” 

Asked why no action has been taken against Digvijaya, Rahul said: “Ours is a democratic party and, unlike the BJP, we believe in having a discussion on issues and allowing our leaders to freely air their views. When discussions happen all kinds of views are aired but not all of them are the party’s view. Sometimes in a discussion ridiculous things are also said and that is what happened.”

Digvijaya’s query

Stating that 40 CRPF jawans had been martyred in Pulwama during a terror attack by Pakistan in February 2019, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister also claimed, “CRPF officials had requested the Prime Minister that personnel should be airlifted, but Modi didn’t agree. How did such a lapse take place? Till date, no report on Pulwama has been placed before Parliament.”

The Congress sought to distance itself from the remark. The party’s communications chief Jairam Ramesh said Digvijaya’s views were “his own and do not reflect the position of the Congress”. He added that surgical strikes had also been carried out before 2014 by the UPA government.