No chest thumping over surgical strikes: PM to Mins

With the opposition complaining about the ruling BJP trying to take political mileage out of an army action, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is understood to have cautioned his Cabinet colleagues against creating hysteria over surgical strikes carried out against terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC).

Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Security on Wednesday, where he is understood to have told his ministerial colleagues that only authorised people should speak on the issue of surgical strikes and one should avoid speaking out of turn, sources said.

It would be interesting to watch if after Prime Minister’s caution, the Uttar Pradesh state unit of the BJP would still go ahead with “warm reception” for Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, when he visits Lucknow on Thursday.

“The workers are upbeat after the success of the Indian Army and it is natural for them to express themselves by according a warm reception to all those connected with it, and the local unit has drawn up a grand welcome programme,” party spokesman was quoted in Lucknow. It’s pertinent to mention that assembly polls are due in Uttar Pradesh early next year.

Besides public receptions at different spots on way to the party office from the airport in the afternoon, Parrikar would attend a reception at a school auditorium in the evening. He is expected to return to New Delhi later in the day. 

BJP workers in the state capital have put up big hoardings thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Parrikar for “teaching a lesson to Pakistan.”

Meanwhile, Modi’s word of caution came against the backdrop of demands that the government should present proof on the cross-LoC raids to counter the smear campaign by Pakistan. 

The demand has triggered a raging debate on whether the proof should be provided or not. The Army has handed over video clippings of the operation but experts are against disclosing details of the operation by the Special Forces.