Surgial Strike: Full Credit To Army, But Government Took The Decision, says Parrikar

MUMBAI:
Amid allegations that the government is trying to appropriate undue credit for the surgical strikes across the Line of Control, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that while the armed forces deserve 100 percent credit, the government “must be cheered for the decision it took boldly.”
“No one thought India could do something like this,” the Defence Minister said, stressing that the army was given a free hand” by the government, which he praised for having the guts to take decisions.
Parrikar said “30 years of steam was released on September 29” when soldiers crossed into Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir to target seven staging areas for terrorists. He also said that the strikes have conveyed to Pakistan that there is “now no predictability with India. The next response may not be a surgical strike, it could be different.”
Opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi have said that PM Modi and his senior ministers are exaggerating the government’s role in the military action and that when the C
ongress was in power, three similar cross-border strikes had been carried out, which were not publicized to prevent an escalation of tension with Pakistan and to allow the army the secrecy and space it needs for highly-sensitive operations.
“I have been Defence Minister for over two years and from whatever I’ve learnt, there was no surgical strike anytime earlier,” the Minister said.
Pakistan has denied the cross-border raids, accusing India of misrepresenting cross-border firing as extra-ordinary action. Opposition leaders including from the Congress and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have asked the government to demolish Pakistan’s claims by sharing evidence of the strikes. Top ministers say those calls for proof are tantamount to siding with Pakistan on a matter of crucial national security.