Manmohan Singh not as tough on terrorism as PM Modi, says Sheila Dikshit; clarifies later

In what could leave the Congress red-faced, party’s Delhi chief Sheila Dikshit on Thursday acknowledged that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s “reaction” after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks was “not as string and determined” as that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Pulwama strike but added that the latter does everything for “politics”.

“Manmohan Singh, yes, I agree with you, was not as strong as and as determined as he (Modi) is. But there is also a feeling that he is doing it all for politics,” ANI quoted Dikshit as saying in an interview to Vir Singhvi for CNN-News18 channel.

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She, however, later clarified saying that her remarks were taken out of context. "If something is taken out of context, I can't say," she said.

"I have seen some media is twisting my comments made in an interview. Here is what I said - it may seem to some people that Mr Modi is stronger on terror but I think this is a poll gimmick more than anything else," Dikshit wrote on Twitter.

The admission by Dikshit is likely to come as a major embarassment to the Congress which has been accusing PM Modi and the BJP of politicising the sacrifices of armed forces.

The Congress has praised the Indian Air Force for its air strike but asked the government to give proof of the number of terrorists killed in the IAF strike in Balakot

Official sources here have put the death toll at 300-350. BJP president Amit Shah has said that 250 terrorists were killed in the air strike. 

Hitting back, the BJP accused the Congress of speaking the language of Pakistan and lowering the morale of security forces by seeking evidence of casualties among terrorists.