'Will you please also go to Balakot to check?' Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore to Kapil Sibal on airstrike proof

Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Tuesday slammed senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal and questioned him on why he trusted the international media over Indian intelligence agencies on the issue of Balakot airstrikes. Taking to Twitter, Rathore asked Congress leader Kapil Sibal if he would ‘go to Balakot’ to check the number of terrorists killed in the February 26 Indian Air Force (IAF) strikes.

“Kapil Sibal ji, you believe international media over own Intelligence agencies? You seem happy when media quoted by you says ‘no losses in strike’ ..and sir, for us you went to London to find evidence against EVMs, will you please also go to Balakot to check (sic)?” Rathore said in a tweet. 

On March 4, former Union minister Sibal cited top international media organisations such as The New York Times, The Guardian and Reuters and asked, “Is international media reporting no proof of militant losses at Balakot pro-Pakistan? (sic)”

Other Opposition leaders such as Digvijaya Singh, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have also raised questions over the number of casualties in the IAF strikes in Balakot. In his tweet, Digvijaya Singh had said that the airstrike after Pulwama ‘durghatna’ or accident is being questioned by the Western media. The comment elicited angry reponses from senior BJP ministers. “With due respect, I would like to ask Digvijaya Singh Ji, was Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination an accident or a terror incident,” asked Union Minister VK Singh.