UPA govt conducted nine surgical strikes but never politicised them: Cong

Amid the controversy surrounding party MP Shashi Tharoor's comments hailing the Modi government's "surgical strike," the Congress on Monday said that the political leadership has always given the armed forces the freedom to neutralise terror camps or terrorists, adding that these powers should not be exploited for political gains.

- PREETHA NAIR @ New Delhi

Speaking to this paper, Congress MP Randeep Surjewala underscored that during Congress's tenure, at least nine such surgical strikes have been documented. However, Congress believes that it is sacrilegious to use armed forces as an instrument of political benefit to a ruling party or otherwise.