Several surgical strikes executed during UPA: Congress

New Delhi: With the BJP highlighting the issue of nationalism in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress on Thursday said that multiple surgical strikes were carried out during the tenure of Congress-led UPA government.

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a tweet: "Multiple surgical strikes took place during our tenure too. For us, military ops were meant for strategic deterrence & giving a befitting reply to anti-India forces than to be used for vote garnering exercises."

He also attached an interview of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh given to a national daily.

Giving a sequence of the surgical strikes during its tenure, the party said that on June 19, 2008, a military operation was carried in the Bhattal Sector in Poonch, while during August 30-September 1, 2011, Sharda Sector across Neelam River Valley in Kel (Pakistan-administered Kashmir) was targeted.

On January 6, 2013, a third surgical strike was carried out in which Sawan Patra checkpost in Pakistan was targeted, Surjewala said.

Between July 27 and 28, 2013, military operations were carried out in Nazapir Sector, on August 6, 2013, Neelam Valley was targeted, he added.