BJP, Congress spar on surgical strikes hit clip

New Delhi: With the Lok Sabha elections less than a year away, the Indian Army has been turned into a political tool by both the BJP and the Congress. After some purported video clips of the Army’s September 2016 surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were aired on certain media channels, the Congress launched a scathing attack on the BJP on Thursday, accusing it of using the “blood of soldiers” for electoral gains. With nationalism as its main poll plank, the BJP hit back saying that the Congress was trying to “lower the Army’s morale” and said it was “no more a mainstream party but a fringe player”. The ruling party accused the Congress of repeatedly making statements questioning the armed forces’ commitment and claimed that “terrorists and their patrons in Pakistan would be the happiest” with the Opposition party’s stand.

Several TV channels had on Wednesday showed video clips reportedly of the surgical strikes which were carried out on terror launchpads across the border in September 2016. The defence ministry or the Army has not offered any comment on the footage.

Addressing a press conference, the Congress’ chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala said while on one hand the Narendra Modi government was seeking credit for the sacrifice and valour of the armed forces, on the other it had failed to provide a direction and vision to deal with Pakistan. The Congress leader said the “blood and sacrifice of the nation’s brave soldiers can’t be a political vote-garnering tool” and accused the government of giving “step-motherly treatment” to the armed forces by not giving them state-of-the-art equipment and slashing their budgetary allocations.

The Congress leader asked whether former Prime Ministers Atal Behari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh were wrong when they used surgical strikes for strategic and security purposes without any chest-thumping.

Hitting back, senior BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the Congress of repeatedly making statements that questioned the commitment and bravery of the armed forces, and lowering their morale. “Such comments make it clear that the Congress is no longer a mainstream party but a fringe player in national politics... It does not look like the same party which had ruled the country for over 60 years. Terrorists and their patrons in Pakistan would be the happiest with the Congress’ stand, which has given them a campaign handle against India,” said Mr Prasad.

The senior BJP leader claimed the Congress’ “only aim seems to be directed at breaking the morale of the armed forces” and asked it to say if it considers the video real or not, and approves of the surgical strikes or not. He also rejected the Congress’ assertion that the BJP wanted to draw political mileage through the video, saying had that been the reason, it would have come out during the UP, Gujarat or Karnataka polls.

On Mr Surjewala’s charge that Army vice-chief Lt. Gen. Sarath Chand had been forced to publicly state that 68 per cent of all equipment was vintage, Mr Prasad said the budgetary allocation for the defence sector at `2.95 lakh crores this year was the highest and cited several steps taken to underscore the government’s commitment to the armed forces.