'Cong appointing Hooda is belated recognition'

Accusing Congress of “trivialising a serious national concern on terrorism” for its recent remarks on Pulwama attack, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said Congress appointing retired lieutenant general D S Hooda as national security expert is “belated, grudging recognition” of the 2016 surgical strikes by the Modi government after Uri terror attack.

A day after Congress trained guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his public engagements during Pulwama, Jaitley in his Facebook post came down heavily on Congress and asked it not to create a global impression that India is divided on how to fight terrorism.

Jaitley also used the blog route to berate Rahul Gandhi for his visit to JNU during the 2016 campus row, Congress stand on Batla House and Ishrat Jahan encounter cases, its campaign against Rafale and questions raised by some Congress leaders on the surgical strike against Pakistan post 2016 Uri attack.

“When the world is rallying around India, the Opposition should not be striking a discordant note,” he said and hoped that Lt Gen Hooda, who has been appointed as head of a Congress committee to advise the party on National Security policy, would educate the party leaders that the surgical strikes were no routine of the past but a significant first for India.

Hooda, an experienced and distinguished former officer of the Indian Army, is considered the architect of the 2016 surgical strikes. Congress drafted Hooda into the party at a time when the BJP has raised the national pitch post Pulwama attack and was accusing Congress of trying to break the morale of security forces. Even on Thursday when Congress spokespersons targetted Modi and raised questions on the government’s efficacy in checking terror strikes, BJP accused Congress of speaking in Pakistan Prime Minister’s language and trying to bring down morale of the security forces.

'Don't support terror'

"Next time if extremists and separatists raise slogans on how to break India (the JNU incident), no one from mainstream parties should pay a supporting visit to them. There is no freedom of speech to advocate a breakup of India,” the Union Minister said.

He asked Congress not to encourage indiscriminate illegal immigration into India and block steps which are taken to stop it. He also advised that politicians of any shade of opinion should not get into a slanging match with any of the services personnel or their chief.

“The Chief of a Force can’t be described as a ‘Sadak ka Goonda’. When security personnel fight the terrorists and make sacrifices (e.g. Batla House), do not legitimise terrorism by standing shoulder to shoulder with the terrorists and call the war against terror as a fake encounter.

“When our intelligence agencies conduct anti-insurgency operations along with the security forces (e.g. Ishrat Jahan case), do not let lose investigative agencies on the intelligence and security network of India. To serve petty political gains, do not politicise defence procurement on false and imaginary facts. It hurts defence preparedness,” the Union Minister said.