Congress leader says Indian Defence Minister is ‘national embarrassment’

Congress lashed out at Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar calling him a ‘national embarrassment’ and demanding his removal from office over false claims of ‘surgical strikes’, according to Indian media reports.

Congress leader Manish Tewari said that the so-called surgical strikes were given hype only for political gains.

Tewari blatantly said Parrikar ‘does not deserve to be the Defence Minister’.

Modi government has been under fire from the Opposition over claims of conducting ‘surgical strikes’ across the Line of Control.

On September 29, India claimed to have conducted surgical strikes in Azad Kashmir, saying that several terrorists were killed in the military action conducted inside Pakistani territory.

The claims were not only rebuffed by Pakistan and the international media, but they also prompted demands from some Indian political leaders for New Delhi to substantiate it with evidence.

Chief Minister Delhi Arvind Kejriwal had urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prove that surgical strikes took place across the LoC, while former Home Minister P Chidambaram had said Indian was over publicising the issue.

The United Nations had also said its mission tasked with monitoring the ceasefire line between India and Pakistan "has not directly observed" any firing along the LoC.