The Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today blasted the Congress and the AAP leaders for “their crimes against the nation and against its brave soldiers.” The Chief Minister meanwhile has written to the Union Home Minister Mr Rajnath Singh after concluding his three day tour of the border areas and close interface with people who have had to be relocated following security requirements.The Chief Minister said that Captain Amarinder and Kejriwal should realise that it is not for politicos to adjudicate on strategic security matters. “Captain Amarinder and Arvind Kejriwal have tried to make the Indian army's capabilities and intent look suspect in the eyes of the world at a most critical hour. The entire nation is stunned, angered and dismayed over their conduct and statements. It is mysterious why they are trying to hurt the entire nation at this critical hour,” said Mr. Badal this afternoon.The Chief Minister said that the country was shocked to see this strange behaviour from its senior politicos “at a time when our armed forces are engaged in a huge effort on the borders to call the bluff of a hostile Government of Pakistan against our country.”
The Chief Minister has lashed out against those who are criticising the decisions taken jointly by the Government of India and the security forces. Mr Badal says that decisions on whether or not to reveal evidence on surgical strikes and when to execute “pre-emptive civilian relocation” are issues to be decided on highly professional grounds.The Punjab Government, he categorically stated, had fully implemented the directive of the government of India on the security-driven issue of “pre-emptive civilian evacuation and relocation on border areas.”Mr Badal emphasized that it was not for the state governments to decide on whether or not or when to execute pre-emptive relocation. “This is highly tactical and strategic decision to be taken by the Government of India on the advice of the security forces. That is how it has been done here too, he said.“We fully realise that border-evacuation is a security-driven decision with tactical, strategic and professional military considerations. The security forces are the best qualified to take a call on such decisions. Accordingly, such issues are handled all over the world through a broad national consensus on strategic considerations,” said Mr Badal in his letter to Mr Rajnath Singh.But the Chief Minister clearly seemed to have lost his cool over repeated efforts of the Congress and the AAP to create controversies about decisions which lie essentially in the domain of the armed forces. The Chief Minister feels that the action and statements of Amarinder and Kejriwal were not the best way to assure our soldiers of how the entire nation stands unquestioningly behind them at this critical hour.In his letter to Mr Rajnath Singh, the Chief Minister has refered to the criticism of the decision of the armed forces not to reveal evidence on surgical strikes.
The Congress and the AAP have also criticised the decision on relocation of civilian population on the border as a pre-emptive evacuation. The Chief Minister in his letter to Mr Rajnath Singh said,” This is an unpardonable sin as the Congress and the AAP leaders are treating our soldiers’ sacred zeal and heroic deeds to mere fodder for their petty politicking, “said Mr Badal, referring to Captain Amarinder Singh and Arvind Kejriwal’s “duplicitous and deliberately mischievous statements on sensitive issues border security.Mr Badal said that it was absurd and ironical that “only three voices in the entire world have treated the border evacuation and the surgical strikes with suspicion. One of these three voices belonged understandably to Pakistan and the other two belong to Kejriwal and Amarinder.Badal accused the AAP and the Congress leaders of “trying to create confusion in the people’s minds about temporary civilian relocation in border areas as well as on the crucial decision of the armed forces about the release of evidence on strikes across the LoC in and Jammu and Kashmir. No country can ever allow such suicidal statements” said Mr Badal.