The Army on Friday briefed the members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence on the surgical strikes carried out against terrorist launch pads across the line of Control (loC) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on September 29. The members were apprised of the reasons for conducting the military action in which “significant casualties” were inflicted on terrorists.
The panel was given details of the operation by Vice Chief of Army Staff lt General Bipin Rawat and no questions were taken. Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence Chairman BC Khanduri said later the briefing was also attended by the Defence Secretary.
“Vice Chief of Army Staff lt General Bipin Rawat briefed the Committee on the September 29 surgical strikes which were carried out across loC. It was an excellent briefing and he conveyed to us the reasons behind the operation,” Khanduri said.
On a query that Congress MP Madhusudan Mistry was not allowed to ask questions during the meeting, Khanduri declined to comment on what transpired in the proceedings. “Everybody must understand it was a briefing and not a discussion. The term referred to was briefing so it was not a question-answer session,” he said adding there are some things which cannot be in public domain. Khanduri made this remark amid reports that there was a heated exchange of words between Khanduri and Mistry when he was not allowed to ask questions.
Reports said earlier the standing committee was to get a briefing by the representatives of the Ministry of Defence on surgical strikes across the loC. But later, the agenda was changed to the status of implementation of E Postal Ballot System.
On Thursday, two senior Congress members Ambika Sonia and Mistry had termed the move to change the agenda as “high1y unacceptable.” In a joint statement they said the decision not to brief the committee over surgical strikes under the garb of secrecy only amounts to ‘lack of confidence’ in the Members of Parliament, who are in the committee and who are bound by the oath of secrecy. “This is absolutely unacceptable to us.”