Mumbai: Continuing its attack on the Centre and opposition in the state - the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiv Sena on Friday stated the surgical strikes meant to demoralise Pakistani terrorists remain an illusion, as Indian soldiers continue to die at the Line of Control on a regular basis.
Questioning the efficacy of the surgical strikes in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamna, the Shiv Sena stated, “The perception that surgical strikes would demoralise Pakistani infiltrators and terrorists has turned out to be an illusion; in fact, terror attacks have increased with time,” read the article.
Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Sena alleged that the Modi government was boasting about the operations of the Indian Army, whereas, the real picture still remains unclear.
“By spreading the news that only Pakistani separatists and militants are getting killed in Kashmir will not change the reality as Tricolour-draped bodies of Indian soldiers continue to arrive home with regularity," the editorial stated.
The Sena's remark came after Indian Army soldier Sandip Sawant, from Satara, attained martyrdom in a counter-insurgency operation in Kashmir, with two other jawans.
“The New Year did not begin on a positive note. Sandip Sawant from Satara was killed during a counter-insurgency operation. In the last month, as many as eight jawans lost their lives in the line of duty,” the article observed.
The Marathi daily also questioned whether the situation in Kashmir had improved, following the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35a in the Kashmir valley. The Sena also alleged, there was no clarity on what was transpiring in Kashmir after the scrapping of Article 370 and only media reports of soldiers sacrificing their lives have been coming out from that state
However, the Saamna maintained its stand that revoking the special status of the state was a good decision.
"It is good that Article 370 was scrapped. Before that, surgical strike was carried out on the Pakistan soil. But has the situation in Kashmir improved? The terror attacks continue. The only difference is that there is control in reporting (these incidents)," it said.
In a veiled attack on the BJP, its former ally, the Sena, also accused it of exploiting the surgical strike for political gains.
