The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has stated that it has no information regarding any surgical strikes conducted by the Indian Army prior to 2016, directly contradicting repeated claims by Congress leaders that multiple such operations were carried out during the UPA regime.
In response to a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by Jammu-based activist Rohit Chaudhary, the MoD—through the Directorate General of Military Operations (DGMO)—replied that it only has a record of one surgical strike conducted along the Line of Control (LoC) on 29 September 2016, following the Uri terror attack in Kashmir.
The RTI, filed in 2018, specifically sought details of surgical strikes conducted between 2004 and 2014. In its reply, the MoD clearly stated that it holds no data on surgical strikes from before 2016. The response has renewed the political debate over the authenticity of Congress’s claims regarding military action during its tenure.
“This clearly proves that the Congress party was lying,” activist Rohit Chaudhary told India Today TV, accusing the party of misleading the public with unverified claims.
The disclosure comes amid an intensifying political battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress over national security and the politicization of military operations. Congress has consistently maintained that it conducted at least six surgical strikes during the UPA’s tenure, though it chose not to publicize them.
In response to BJP’s criticism, Congress president Rahul Gandhi recently defended the armed forces and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of insulting the military. “The Army isn’t Modi’s personal property,” Gandhi said. “Surgical strikes were done by the Indian Army, not by the Congress. When he says they were like video games, he insults the Indian Army. The records are available.”
Congress leader Kapil Sibal also reiterated that surgical strikes took place during the UPA government, citing “Operation Ginger” in 2011 as an example. “Surgical strikes are meant to secure our country and borders—not for celebration,” Sibal said. “Manmohan Singh never boasted about them. But PM Modi turns these into political events while soldiers continue to die.”
The BJP, however, has repeatedly dismissed the Congress’s claims, emphasizing that the 2016 operation was the first publicly acknowledged and documented surgical strike by India in response to cross-border terrorism.
Congress Reiterates Surgical Strikes Claim
On 29 May 2025, the Congress party reiterated its claim that six surgical strikes were carried out during the tenure of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, while accusing the BJP of exploiting military operations for political advantage.
In a post on X, the Congress shared a list of what it described as six UPA-era “surgical strikes,” reaffirming that the party has never used such operations for electoral mileage or political messaging.
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/kkTLrmr3BS
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 29, 2025
The party referred to a press conference it held in 2019, during which these strikes were allegedly first publicly listed. Congress leaders emphasized that while the UPA government authorized strategic military responses when required, it refrained from publicizing them or turning them into political spectacles.
The statement comes amid renewed political sparring over the issue, following the Ministry of Defence’s recent RTI response stating that it has no records of surgical strikes prior to the 2016 operation conducted after the Uri attack.
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