Modi against hysteria over surgical strikes

During the Cabinet meeting, he is understood to have told his ministerial colleagues that only authorised people should speak on the issue of surgical strikes and one should avoid speaking out-of-turn, sources said. His word of caution came against the backdrop of demands that the government should present proof about the cross-LoC raids to counter the smear campaign by Pakistan. The demand has triggered a raging debate on whether the proof should be provided or not. The BJP and experts are against disclosing details of the operation by the Special Forces. Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence which was to meet on Thursday for a briefing by the representatives of the Ministry of Defence on ‘Surgical Strikes across the Line of Control (LoC)’ has decided to postpone the meeting. The panel will now meet on October 14.

Amid a raging debate over whether the government should release evidence of the Army’s surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the LoC, Congress on Wednesday favoured use of all “information, evidence and instruments” to call Pakistan’s bluff. The party, however, said the government should do it ‘subject to the considerations of national security’. “Subject to the considerations of national security, we again request the government to use all information, evidence and instruments at their disposal in calling the Pakistani bluff,” Congress spokesman RPN Singh told reporters here. Insisting that it is time to “expose the malicious lies and false propaganda” of Pakistan, he said the party has emphasised its unequivocal support to the Armed Forces and the government in the surgical strikes and has “unquestionably supported our armed forces at all times”. Asked whether the party would take action against Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam for dubbing the surgical strikes as ‘fake’, Singh merely said that the party has taken “note” of it.