NEW DELHI: Amid the controversy surrounding party MP Shashi Tharoor’s comments hailing the Modi government’s “surgical strike”, the Congress on Monday said that the political leadership has always given the armed forces the freedom to neutralise terror camps or terrorists, adding that these powers should not be exploited for political gains.Speaking to this paper, Congress MP Randeep Surjewala underscored that during Congress’s tenure, at least nine such surgical strikes have been documented. However, Congress believes that it is sacrilegious to use armed forces as an instrument of political benefit to a ruling party or otherwise.Tharoor stoked a row at a recent diaspora event in Panama. Hailing the ‘Operation Sindoor’, he said it marked a shift in India’s military posture. “For the first time, India crossed the LoC to strike a terror base after the 2016 Uri attack. Even during the Kargil War, we did not cross the LoC,” he said.While Tharoor’s comments invited sharp responses from his party colleagues, Surjewala said the party came out to set the record straight on multiple “surgical strikes” over the last two decades.“It’s a matter of setting the record straight, without compromising in any manner, the operational freedom and across the border operations of our forces,” he said.Listing the surgical strikes conducted by the Congress governments, Surjewala said conducting strategic “surgical strikes” with precision and effective penetration at different times in the last two decades has been characteristic of the grit and determination of the armed forces. “Surgical strikes and army operations beyond the LAC, mostly in Pakistan, but also across Bangladesh or China are a matter of operational efficacy to demolish terror infrastructure and eliminate threats to our country by our brave armed forces,” he added.
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