'For your information...': Congress lists 6 UPA-era surgical strikes after Shashi Tharoor's 'zealots' remark

The Congress party on Thursday (May 29) once again claimed that the UPA government under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conducted as many as six surgical strikes. Congress released a list that included names and dates of the surgical strikes. This came in response to the grand old party's assertion that it has never used military operations for political gains. It also came after Congress leader Shashi Tharoor - who is leading an Indian delegation on Operation Sindoor - while speaking in Panama, reportedly said that "for the first time" India breached the LoC between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base.

However, Tharoor hit back at “zealots” within his party after facing criticism over his reported remarks.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also questioned External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar several times post Operation Sindoor and claimed that India's foreign policy has "collapsed."

India conducted Operation Sindoor hitting terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing 100 terrorists. India's action was in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22 in which 26 people were killed.

Prime Minister Modi in his speeches has praised the Armed forces for Operation Sindoor and reiterated that the Operation is the "new normal". He has also said that India will hit Pakistan and not differentiate between terrorists and those who shield them. The Prime Minister also took a veiled dig at the opposition, saying that the armed forces recorded Operation Sindoor on camera so that “no one at home asks for proof.” His remarks alluded to the Opposition's doubts about surgical strikes in 2016 and the Balakot airstrikes in 2019.

Congress mentioned UPA-era air strikes in 2019

Earlier in 2019, the Congress party had questioned the Balakot air strike when the BJP government said that it was conducted to avenge the deaths of 40 CRPF personnel in the Pulwama terror attack.

The Congress then held a press conference listing the strikes under the UPA government.

The UPA government carried out six surgical strikes - Bhattal sector in Poonch (June 19, 2008); Sharda sector, across Neelam River Valley, in Kel (August 30-September 1, 2011); Sawan Patra checkpost (January 6, 2013); Nazapir sector (July 27-28, 2013); Neelam Valley (August 6, 2013); and one on December 23, 2013, Congress spokesperson Rajeev Shukla had said. Shukla had also listed two surgical strikes carried out under the previous BJP-led NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. These were Nadala Enclave, across the Neelam River (January 21, 2000) and Baroh sector in Poonch (September 18, 2003), Shukla said. The Congress said that both Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee never talked about the strikes.