The Bharatiya Janata Party has made the surgical strikes in Pakistani soil as the main election issue. Reacting sharply, former prime minister Manmohan Singh mocked at the changed stand of the Modi government. He accused Modi of trying to divert the attention of the voters from his failures to prevent the economic decline in India. Manmohan further asserted that surgical strikes on terrorist camps were carried out during the earlier Congress government also but it had never taken political advantage out of this.

The Congress leaders have been attacking the BJP on the crippling impact of the demonetisation and the GST. But the BJP has cleverly shifted election campaign focus on to the Indian air raids conducted on the Balakot terrorist camps in Pakistan border area. Modi is saying that the Congress had not taken enough steps to protect the country’s security. He is indirectly suggesting that the BJP has courageously hit back at the terrorists who are operating from Pakistani soil. Replying to this, Manmohan Singh said that they carried out six surgical strikes during their regime. It’s not the BJP government which first resorted to these strikes. Singh’s comments assumed significance as the BJP raised its voice on terrorists and surgical strikes in the ongoing election campaign.