What surgical strike? Former Army chief VK Singh rubbishes Congress' claim

Former Army chief and Union Minister General (retd) VK Singh on Saturday accused the Congress party of lying about its claims of multiple surgical strikes during UPA government. "Congress has a habit of lying. Will you please let me know which ‘So called Surgical Strike’ are you attributing to my tenure as COAS," the BJP leader asked.

The remarks of the BJP leader came after the Congress on Thursday came out with its claim that six surgical strikes were carried out during the erstwhile regimes of UPA-I and UPA-II.

Addressing a press conference, senior Congress leader Rajiv Shukla elucidated the details of the ‘surgical strikes’. He said while six were carried out during the UPA regime, two more carried out during the tenure of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

"We never did chest thumping. The one who did only one surgical strike is patting his back. Neither Dr Manmohan Singh nor Vajpayee did a press conference on it," Shukla said.

Shukla listed out the six ‘surgical strikes’ carried out during the UPA regime:

June 19, 2008 – Bhattal Sector in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch

August 30-September 1, 2011 – Sharda Sector, across Neelam River Valley in Kel

January 6, 2013 – Sawan Patra Checkpost

July 27-28, 2013 – Nazapir Sector

August 6, 2013 – Neelam Valley and another one on January 14, 2014, just before the Lok Sabha elections.

One of the surgical strike claimed by the Congress party was carried out during the time when VK Singh was the Army chief. Singh had held the office as the 24th Chief of Armed Staff from March 31, 2010 to May 31, 2012.