The Congress on Wednesday upped the ante on Centre and journalist Arnab Goswami for his explosive WhatsApp chats saying the leakage of secret military operations was treason and those who were party to the act deserved no mercy and must be punished.

Led by former Defence Minister AK Antony, the Congress demanded an enquiry to determine the source of the leak and whether the leak compromised the Balakot operations. Antony was joined by former home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad

The attack on Centre and Goswami comes a day after former party chief Rahul Gandhi termed the leakage a criminal act and action to be taken with utmost importance. Rahul’s sibling and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi too took to social media to express her disappointment the way Goverment is handling the current defence related leakage and said how can the Modi government remain a mute spectator in this criminal act when lives of nation’s brave soldiers were lost in the Pulwama attack.

Expressing his shock on Goswami’s remarks to ex-BARC chief Partho Dasgupta three days before the IAF strike in Balakot that “something big is going to happen”, Antony said leaking official secret is a crime but leaking information on military operations was an anti national act and those involved must be punished.

Antony also said only four to five civilians in the top echelons of the government had the Balakot strike information and “someone from among them has leaked it.”

“Having worked with the military people I am sure no one from the military could ever leak such information,” the former defence minister said.

“One of the top five civilians in the government is suspect. It has to be enquired immediately on war footing as to who that person is. Whoever is responsible for the leakage must be punished for treason and this journalist who was in possession of sensitive military operations he has to be punished. The Government must order a proper enquiry. Whoever is responsible, whoever is party to the leakage of this sensitive military operation deserves no mercy. He has to be punished,” said Antony.

Shinde said that “leaking of official secret is a criminal act but leaking of official secret about military operation, a national security matter, that too sensitive military operations especially a military strike is treason, anti national.”

It is not just criminal action it is anti national activity, said Antony. He said only three or four or five ministers and officials could have known of the operation.