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Multiple surgical strikes took place but we never talked about it: Manmohan Singh

Manmohan Singh

New Delhi | Former Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, claimed that during Congress rule they had also carried out a number of surgical strikes but they never boasted it.

“Multiple surgical strikes took place during our [UPA] tenure, too. For us, military operations were meant for strategic deterrence and giving a befitting reply to anti-India forces than to be used for vote garnering exercises,” said Dr.Manmohan Singh, in a veiled reference to BJP using the Balakot airstrikes in their campaign speeches.

In an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, he said, “In the past 70 years, a government in power never had to hide behind the valour of our armed forces. Such attempts to politicize our forces are shameful and unacceptable.”

He compared PM Modi to the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and said,” Neither Mrs Gandhi, nor her predecessor took away the credit of our armed forces in winning these wars”.

When asked if he would undo any actions taken during the 26/11, he answered, “In the absence of facts, everyone can re-judge history in hindsight… different geopolitical conditions require different responses. Our response was to isolate and diplomatically expose Pakistan as a terror hub, besides rallying the international community for decisive action against terrorists. We succeeded too,” said Dr Manmohan Singh.

He said they got 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed in the UN list of glocal terrorists.

“UPA got China to agree to declare Hafiz Saeed as a global terrorist under the 1267 Sanctions Committee of UN and also ensured that a $10m bounty was placed on his head,” he said.

“Our response was to isolate and diplomatically expose Pakistan as a terror hub”.

Slamming the Modi government for the demonetisation and the GST, he said, “Modi promised 20 million jobs per year, but demonetisation and a flawed GST snatched over 40 million jobs. Joblessness and unemployment is at a 45-year high of 6.1%”.

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Election 2019

Youth is our foundation: Sunny Deol

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Gurdaspur | Bollywood actor and BJP candidate from Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat Sunny Deol on Thursday said creating employment opportunities for the youth will be his main priority.

Asserting that he came to Gurdaspur to serve the people and not to return to Mumbai, Deol, whose real name is Ajay Singh Deol, also praised the tenure of late BJP MP and actor Vinod Khanna and said he will take his work forward while seeking voters’ support for winning this border seat.

The most important issue (for me) is our youth. Youth is our foundation. I want the creation of job opportunities for them, said Deol in his first media interaction after being named as a candidate for Gurdaspur seat.

He also said he wanted to work for the welfare of the farming community.

We belong to Punjab and farming is in our blood. I want to understand all their issues and do whatever is possible for their welfare, the actor said.

On Wednesday, Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar had accused Deol of having no understating of Punjab issues and asked him to share his vision for Gurdaspur constituency, telling him that “politics is a serious business and not a time pass activity”.

Appreciating the work done by late BJP MP Vinod Khanna, Deol said, Vinod ji has worked here for 20 years and he worked a lot here. After him, I got a chance to work (for this constituency). I want to work the same way Khanna did. I belong to people here and I will never hurt them. I will try to meet up to their expectations”.

Khanna, who was fielded by the BJP from Gurdaspur seat in 1998 for the first time, was a four-time MP. Khanna passed away in 2017.

Deol said he was happy to be announced as BJP candidate for Gurdaspur constituency.

I am very happy because I have got a chance to (work for people here). Everybody knows me because of my films. People of Punjab and country love me a lot and I stay in their hearts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked very well during last five years and I want that he should win again this time, he said.

You have seen, I have worked in film industry and there also I talked less and my work spoke for me. Here I also want that my work should speak rather than I say something, said Deol.

Deol also sought to allay fears that he would return to Mumbai after elections. I have not come here to return, he said.

Currently, the Gurdaspur constituency is represented by Congress MP Sunil Jakhar who won the seat in the 2017 bypoll, which was necessitated after the death of Vinod Khanna in April that year.

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