Asked to comment on former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Farooq Abdullah purportedly saying that the Indian Army cannot stop infiltration even with its full strength deployed, Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said here on Monday that the media, particularly electronic media, should refrain from raking up any controversy without studying a controversial statement in its right context. The media being inclined to stir up controversies, the Union ministers are now avoiding making statements in the electronic media lest they be caught in the web of controversies, he added.
He regretted that the electronic media, in its mad rush for stoking controversies, are leaping to conclusions without taking the pains to study the contexts in their entirety of the controversial statements they are splashing around. “This is an unfortunate trend,” he said. He further said that he would not comment on the J& K leader’s purported statement without going through its authenticity and context.
However, reiterating the Centre’s commitment to stop infiltration from across the borders, the Union defence minister said they are ready to take on any exigency head-on. “Farooq Abdullah’s desire for continuance of dialogue between India and Pakistan might have spurred him to go for such a statement. It is true that nobody wants war. We also stand for resolving all tangles through bilateral dialogue. But, as is its wont, the media has blown things out of proportions to drive us on to the boiling point. I can hardly allow myself to be a party to this kind of irresponsible controversy -mongering,” the Union minister added.