'Get 82 of them for our 41 soldiers,’ says Amarinder

Former Army Captain and Chief Minister of Punjab Capt Amarinder on Monday said India "should get 82 of them (Pak-based terrorists) for killing 41 of our men."

Insisting on a strong stance in the wake of the Pulwama terror carnage, Capt demanded an ‘eye for an eye’ and a ‘tooth for a tooth’.

Capt’s advice for the Army on its Kashmir strategy and use of pellets came as a surprise. Lamenting that the Army had softened since the days he joined the forces 50 years ago, the CM said they should go after Jaish-e-Mohammad in Kashmir, instead of firing pellets and blinding youth. “Let’s win their hearts and minds with love,” Capt said, urging the Army not to look at Kashmiri youth as their enemies.

“If they (Pak-backed terrorists) kill our soldiers, we have to do something,” he said in Chandigarh. Capt said it was for the Centre to decide what form of action should be taken, but it was clear that some measures had to be taken urgently. “India wants it now”, he said. “No one is asking anyone to go to war, but these killings of soldiers are not a joke. Something must be done. I’m fed up, the country is fed up,” a visibly agitated Captain said, advocating a ‘tit-for-tat’ action against Pakistan.

Strong action must

“Pakistan can’t hold India to ransom just because they are a nuclear nation; even we are nuclear,” the CM pointed out, observing that they had nuclear capability even during Kargil attack but were defeated by the Indian forces. In any case, Islamabad could never resort to use of nuke weapons, as international pressure would not allow that, he said, suggesting that New Delhi should call Pakistan’s bluff against such threats.

On talks with Pakistan, he said: “There is a time for talks but that is not now”. Now, there is palpable anger across the country, which wanted some strong measures by the Indian government, he asserted. Questions were bound to be asked on the issue of intelligence failure in Pulwama, the CM said, adding that the government would need to answer them.