Digvijaya hits out at Parrikar on ‘RSS teaching’ remark

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has dubbed as “outrageous” Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s statement trying to credit “RSS teaching” for the decision to launch surgical strikes across the LoC.

The AICC General Secretary agreed with the perception in some quarters that BJP is trying to “politically milk” the surgical strikes.

“Obviously yes (BJP is trying to politically milk the surgical strikes). Do you have any doubt? Can you imagine a Defence Minister saying that the surgical strike is because of the teachings of RSS? What an outrageous statement,” Singh said. He also charged the BJP-led government with having a strategy of engaging in “limited war” with Pakistan to win the next elections.

Asked if the government is “taking things too far” in trying to isolate Pakistan internationally, he said, “Because they (BJP-led NDA government) have failed on every front, they know that they can’t win the next elections without having some kind of a limited war with Pakistan. That’s their strategy.” 

The Rajya Sabha member did not clarify if he was referring to the elections to Uttar Pradesh Assembly due early next year, or to Lok Sabha polls in 2019. Singh favoured talks with Pakistan to de-escalate tension between the two countries as he invoked former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s statement that one can’t choose neighbours.