Tewari takes dig at Rajnath Singh, invites him to his book launch

New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS) Congress MP Manish Tewari has criticised BJP for using his book to launch an attack on Congress and said that the book also has mentions of Balakot surgical strike. After the war of words between Tewari and Rajnath Singh broke out, the Congress MP has invited him for his book launch event.

Tewari said, "Respected @rajnathsingh ji, trolls in your party, I understand but as Union Defence Minister, I would urge you to read my book if you seriously think surgical strikes or Balakot bombings have brought about any substantive change in behaviour of Pakistan."

He said the BJP may have gained in politics but did not achieve on security front. "In terms of domestic political messaging, yes there may have been some windfalls, however, the central dilemma of how really efficacious is the response of conventional force to depredations of non-state actors is still seriously debatable. Even today it remains a challenge as much as it was in 2008."

"I will discuss this and a lot more including response of your government to continued Chinese incursions since April 2020 that form a substantial part of the book after its formal launch on December 2, 2021. If you have the time, plz do come Sir," Tewari added.

Rajnath Singh on Saturday had referred Tewari's book to attack Congress while addressing a BJP meeting in Uttar Pradesh. Singh said, "After the Mumbai attacks, the then Congress-led UPA government did not take the effective action against terrorism that they should have taken. I am not only saying this, senior Congress leader, Manish Tewari in his book has admitted the reality that the government should have taken effective action after the terror attack in 2008. It did not take such action."

Singh highlighted India's response to the terror attacks in Uri and Pulwama, and said that the action that the BJP-led government took after the attack is discussed in the entire world.

Tewari in his book wrote about security situation and challenges after rise of the Taliban. "For a state that has no compunctions in brutally slaughtering hundreds of innocent people, restraint is not a sign of strength; it is perceived as a symbol of weakness. There comes a time when actions must speak louder than words -- 26/11 was one such time when it just should have been done. It, therefore, is my considered opinion that India should have actioned a kinetic response in the days following 9/11," excerpts from the book says.