Congress vs BJP Over Surgical Strikes: Did UPA Carry Out 6 Operations Before 2016?

Amid growing controversy over Shashi Tharoor's remarks on surgical strikes, the Congress on Thursday reiterated its claim that six such operations were conducted during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, swiftly dismissed this as false.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor faced sharp criticism from within his own party after stating that India's first surgical strike was carried out in response to a terror attack in 2016. Senior Congress leader and party general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala defended the "seasoned and experienced" Tharoor but clarified that the leader was mistaken about the timing of surgical strikes.

Surjewala said, "The Congress party corrected him by pointing out that surgical strikes against Pakistan and other terrorist hideouts were a regular feature even during the UPA era - conducted to give a strong response to terrorism by our armed forces and Congress governments."

Sharing a video on X (formerly Twitter), the Congress stated, "No Noida. No PR. Only Decisive Actions. Six surgical strikes were carried out under the Congress government."

The BJP hit back strongly, accusing the Congress of corruption even when it comes to matters of national security. Quoting a Right to Information (RTI) response from April 2018, the BJP claimed, "There were no surgical strikes under the UPA, as confirmed by the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO)."

The party added, "Fearful Congress must STOP LYING," in a post on X.

Rahul Gandhi's 2018 claims

In December 2018, then Congress president Rahul Gandhi had claimed that the Indian Army conducted three surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) during the UPA government, according to reports.

Echoing Randeep Surjewala's earlier statements, Congress has now listed six military operations it says were carried out under its watch. According to their post, these strikes include operations in Poonch's Bhattal sector (June 19, 2008), Sharda sector in Kel (August 31 - September 1, 2011), Sawan Patra Checkpost (January 6, 2013), Nazapir sector (July 27-28, 2013), and two strikes in Neelam Ghati (August 6, 2013, and January 14, 2014).

Army denies surgical strikes before 2016

In May 2019, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh claimed his government conducted "multiple surgical strikes," but refrained from using them for political gains.

However, the Army's northern command chief at the time, Lt General Ranbir Singh, stated that the September 2016 surgical strike on terrorist launchpads in PoK was the first such operation, as reported earlier.

Lt General Singh referenced the DGMO's response to an RTI query confirming there was no official record of surgical strikes before September 2016 across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

This marked the first time a senior army official publicly stated that the 2016 operation was the first targeted surgical strike by Indian forces. Lt General Singh was the DGMO when the September 2016 strikes were carried out in retaliation to the Uri attack, where 19 Indian soldiers were killed.