Congress MP Charanjit Channi questions surgical strikes, ‘56-inch chest’ act; BJP hits back
Congress MP and former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday said the government should take strong and decisive action against Pakistan following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, and questioned the authenticity of the 2019 surgical strikes, saying no one had seen any proof of them.
Addressing a press conference after the Congress Working Committee meeting, Channi said the government had done nothing even 10 days after the attack. “We demand concrete steps, and the entire country is watching to see what action will be taken against Pakistan,” he said.
“People are waiting for the so-called 56-inch chest to act. We want the government to respond swiftly and deliver results,” he added.
Referring to the 2019 Pulwama attack, in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed, Channi said the government later used the incident to claim retaliatory action.
“But we have never seen where in Pakistan the strikes were done and where people were killed. If someone threw a bomb in our country, will people not know? They claim to have conducted surgical strikes against Pakistan but nothing had happened. Surgical strikes were not seen anywhere and no one knew about them,” he said.
He also dismissed measures like visa cancellations and the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty as ineffective.
Channi backtracks on surgical strikes remarks
However, following strong criticism from the BJP, Channi backtracked from his remarks. “I have said earlier also that the Congress party, in this hour of grief, is standing by the government. If the government disrupts their (Pakistan’s) water supply, air or whatever action it takes, we are standing like a rock with it,” he said.
BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan accused him of insulting the armed forces, saying, “Now, he insults the armed forces again, saying they (the Army) said that we did a surgical strike on Pakistan, but nobody saw it.”
Kesavan also accused Channi of making a disrespectful comment, referring to it as “stuntbaazi” in 2024 when Corporal Vicky Pahade was killed in the Poonch attack.
Delhi minister and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa also condemned the remarks of Channi of questioning the Indian Army and Air Force.
“Congress has once again raised questions about our army and our air force. Charanjit Singh Channi has said that he does not believe in the surgical strikes and wants proof. What kind of mentality is this? Rahul Gandhi repeatedly raises questions about our army and air force, calling them liars,” Sirsa claimed.
Delhi minister and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa also condemned Channi’s remarks, questioning the Indian Army and Air Force.
“Pakistan itself has acknowledged that India carried out the surgical strike and inflicted damage. In such a situation, when our people are under attack, Congress is still not refraining from its dirty politics,” said Manjinder Singh Sirsa,” he added.
