New Delhi: Congress MP and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has sparked a political row by questioning the Indian armed forces’ 2019 surgical strikes across the border following the Pulwama terror attack, saying “no one saw them”. “Till date, I could not find where the (surgical) strike took place, where men were killed at that time, and where this happened in Pakistan. Nothing had happened.
Nowhere was a surgical strike seen. Nobody came to know,” Channi said speaking at a press conference. He added, “I have always demanded (proof).” Channi’s remarks come even as the Congress party has publicly backed the government over the recent Pahalgam terror attack. He also criticised the delay in response to the incident, saying, “Ten days have passed since the Pahalgam attack but no action has been taken by the government. The entire country is waiting to see what action the government is going to take against Pakistan. People are waiting for the 56-inch chest to act.”
Reacting sharply to the Congress, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused Channi of undermining the armed forces and linked his comments to the Congress leadership. “Charanjit Singh Channi’s statement that he needs proof of the surgical strike reflects the dirty mentality of the Congress and the Gandhi family. These people leave no stone unturned to lower the morale of the Army,” Sirsa said.
Pakistan itself is saying that India has caused a lot of damage by conducting surgical strikes. Charanjit Singh Channi has again shown the dirty politics and dirty mentality of the Gandhi family, who always question the army and demoralise the forces. I condemn this.” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra also reacted to Channi statements doubting surgical strikes and said that the Congress is demoralising armed forces and people of India.
Right after that, a press conference was held, and former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi said that the surgical strike had never been conducted after the Pulwama terrorist attack. Congress does not leave any opportunity to provide oxygen to the Pakistani terorrists and Pakistani Army,” the BJP MP said in a press conference in Saturday. Meanwhile, the Congress Working Committee (CWC), in its recent meeting, reiterated the party’s commitment to national unity and called on the government to take action against those responsible for the Pahalgam attack.