Union Minister and former Army chief VK Singh on Wednesday said that those questioning the Balakot airstrike should be tied to the belly of fighter jets in case India undertakes any similar action against terrorists in the future.

“Next time when India does something, I believe the opposition leaders who are raising questions (on the strike) should be tied to the bottom of the fighter jets and taken to the mission,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

Advertisement

“When the bombs are fired they will be able to see the target. Then they can be dropped at the spot where they can count (the enemy casualties) and return,” added Singh, who is the Minister of State External Affairs.

Singh’s criticism was directed at the opposition leaders who raised questions on the 26 February IAF airstrike on a major training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.

Demanding proof of the airstrike, many prominent opposition leaders have asked the government to reveal the number of terrorists killed.

Earlier today, Singh had taken a jibe at the opposition leaders with a tweet using the mosquito as an example.

“There were a lot of mosquitoes at 3:30 am at night. So, I used Hit (mosquito repellent) on them. Now, should I sit and count how many mosquitoes I killed or sleep in comfort,” Singh tweeted on Wednesday.

रात ३.३० बजे मच्छर बहुत थे,

तो मैंने HIT मारा।

अब मच्छर कितने मारे, ये गिनने बैठूँ,

या आराम से सो जाऊँ? #GenerallySaying

— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) March 6, 2019

When asked to comment on his tweet, Singh told ANI, “Do you count things? Bombs were exploded, buildings were hit & will people not be killed after an explosion of a 1000 kg bomb? If killed, then you make an estimate of number of people killed. I don’t know who wants to count it. It’s unfortunate.”

In a sweeping Facebook post on Wednesday, Singh also took a swipe at government critics, including opposition members, student leaders, activists and media, and called for a “surgical strike” within India, claiming if it does not happen, then the “robbers are ready to loot”.

Writing why India cannot emulate Israel, Singh said the opposition in that country, unlike India, does not question and “insult” their army when it carries out tasks like ‘Operation Munich’.

“We want to be in Israel mode overnight. No, it won’t happen. If Modi is there, I have expectation and faith that revenge will be taken. It will be fierce and 100 times more intense. But India cannot be Israel and will not be Israel,” he said in the post written in Hindi.

He counted multiple reasons why he thinks India cannot become Israel.

“Because there is no JNU in Israel where youngsters can raise slogans in support of breaking the country, he said, in an apparent reference to the alleged anti-national protests in the university in February 2016. Because no courts are opened for terrorists at 2 am in night and nor does journalists there cry for human rights of terrorists,” he went on.

“Because when Israel carries out Operation Munich, the opposition there does not insult the country or armed forces by seeking proof,” Singh said, in an apparent reference to the covert operation of Israel spy agency Mossad to eliminate those involved in the terror attack on the country’s 1972 Munich Olympics contingent in which several members were killed.

The country is supreme in Israel, not religion or caste, and no Jat, Gujjar or Maratha torch public property there, he added.

“There are no tapeworms (in Israel) like Shehla Rashid and Kanhaiya Kumar who study on taxpayers’ money and call the Army rapists,” he alleged.

Singh said time has come for India to be like Israel so that its elected representatives know that the nation will be united for protecting its integrity and sovereignty not only during war but all the time, irrespective of any eventuality.

While some leaders from the ruling party, including BJP chief Amit Shah, claimed that 250 terrorists were killed in the airstrike, the IAF declined to give out the numbers.

IAF chief BS Dhanoa had on Monday said in a press conference that the force does not count bodies.

Read More: Air chief confirms hitting targets at Balakot, says IAF doesn’t count number of dead

Briefing the media in Coimbatore, the air chief said Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale has in his statement clearly amplified the target.

“The target has been clearly amplified by the Foreign Secretary in his statement. If we plan to hit the target, we hit the target, otherwise why would he (Pak PM) have responded, if we dropped bombs in the jungles why would he respond,” he said.

(With PTI inputs.)