Sending NSG to Pathankot was 'serious lapse': Digvijay

Hyderabad, Jan 13: Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh today said sending NSG commandos to Pathankot airforce base was a "serious lapse" and questioned the role of NSA Ajit Doval in the decision even as he denounced Narendra Modi's recent Lahore visit, saying it was unbecoming of a Prime Minister.

It was a "serious lapse" to deploy National Security Guards in the counter operation, Singh told reporters here.

"The role of Ajit Doval, the NSA, has been questioned too. When there was an Army unit close by, they could have easily taken on the terrorists. The National Security Adviser chose to send NSG which is not trained to handle such situations.

This is another serious lapse on the part of the government. "Unfortunately, the Prime Minster has given a clean chit to Ajit Doval while most of the army people have questioned the decision to send NSG and not hand over the operation to the Indian Army," he said.

Replying to a query, Singh claimed that Doval could not fulfil his role properly in the Pathankot attack issue.

Saying that Congress is always in favour of improving relations with Pakistan, he maintained that the approach adopted by the Centre is not correct.

"Narendra Modi, who used to speak in the most derogatory language against Pakistan, went to Pakistan in a very informal manner which I suppose unbecoming of an Indian Prime Minister. The result was two days later, an attack on our Air Force Station in Pathankot," he said.

Raising doubts on the behavior of former Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh in the Pathankot attack, the Congress leader demanded that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conduct a thorough probe into the whole issue.

"It is also very important to note the behavior of the SP Salwinder Singh in the incident. What was he doing at midnight with a jeweler and his cook without the security? "Information is now coming in that there was an intelligence warning of infiltration of some of the terrorists in that border and this information is there with the Punjab Police. But the Punjab Police did not act the way it should have."

PTI