It is not right to ask for proof of surgical strikes: Anna Hazare to Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Social activist Anna Hazare on Tuesday expressed disagreement with his one-time protege and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying it is not right to ask for proof of surgical strikes by the Army on terror camps in PoK.

“It is unfair to ask for proof of surgical strikes. I condemn this. The matter is related to the Army, country, and the border. At this time, it is wrong to mistrust (the army). There was a lot of planning done for the operation. In a such a case, how can we mistrust people,” Hazare said.

He was speaking at the launch of the trailer of his biopic ‘Anna’.

Hazare is a veteran of 1965 Indo-Pak war and was posted in the northeast at a time when the insurgency was flaring in the region.

In a televised speech yesterday, Kejriwal had “saluted” Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ordering the surgical strike but also referred to some international media reports and a UN group observations, both of which appear to question its authenticity, as he asked the Prime Minister to “unmask the Pakistani propaganda”.

Claiming that Kejriwal “sought proof” on the anti-terror operation, the BJP asked him not to belittle the armed forces by getting influenced by Pakistani “propaganda”.

At a press conference today, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the AAP leader should answer whether he believed in the Indian Army or not.

Kejriwal rejected BJP’s criticism and accused it of playing politics over the anti-terror surgical strike and said why was the party “scared” when he had only asked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to counter the propaganda by Pakistan.

Hazare also warned the Union government that if it does not implement the Lokpal Bill then he will again resort to protests in Ram Lila Maidan.

—PTI