Cong distances itself from Diggy’s rants

BJP reacted strongly saying senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh is "echoing Pakistan's narrative" and he does not have "any patriotism left in him."

New Delhi, Jan 25: As if BJP reacting strongly to Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's demand for a "report" on the 2016 surgical strike and the 2019 Pulwama attack was not enough, Diggy's own party Congress has distanced itself from his remarks stating that the party does not share his views, and that Singh's comments were solely his own.

During his speech at a public gathering in Jammu, Singh had stated that the Central government is still required to present a report on both the surgical strike and the attack in Pulwama. He claimed that no report regarding the Pulwama attack has been presented to Parliament till this day.

"They (the government) asserted that a surgical strike was conducted, but they did not provide evidence to support their claim. They only spread lies," the Congress leader, who is known as 'Diggy' in his close circle, is seen saying in a video released by news agency ANI.

"In Pulwama, 40 of our CRPF jawans paid the ultimate sacrifice. Officials from the CRPF had requested that personnel be airlifted, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not willing to agree to their request. How did such an oversight occur?" he further claimed in his speech.

After Singh's statement received huge backlash from the netizens on social media, an embarrassed Congress issued a statement to save its face. In a damage-control exercise, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted: "The views expressed by senior leader Digvijaya Singh are his own and do not reflect the position of Congress."

"Before 2014, the UPA government was responsible for carrying out surgical strikes. The Congress has, and will continue to, back any and all military operations that are deemed to be in the national interest," Ramesh added.

Party MP Rahul Gandhi too said that he did not appreciate what Digvijay Singh said about the Indian Army. "We have full faith in the Army. If they conduct any operation, they don't have to give us any proof of it," Gandhi told journalists in a press conference.

Meanwhile, the comments made by Singh elicited robust responses from the ruling BJP. The saffron party reacted by saying that Singh is "echoing Pakistan's narrative" and that he does not have "any patriotism left in him."

The grand old party, according to BJP's national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia, "does not have trust in our brave army and repeatedly insults the army and the citizens of the country by raising such questions." Members of Congress keep casting doubt on the bravery of our armed forces as they do not have faith in the people who are responsible for our safety, he added.