Indian PM warns ministers against 'chest thumping'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is understood to have cautioned his Cabinet colleagues against creating a hysteria over the military action against terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC).

During the Cabinet meeting yesterday, he is understood to have told his ministerial colleagues that only authorised people should speak on the issue of surgical strikes and one should avoid speaking out of turn, sources said.

His word of caution came against the backdrop of demands that the government should present proof about the cross-LoC raids to counter the smear campaign by Pakistan.

The demand has triggered a raging debate on whether the proof should be provided or not.

The Indian army yesterday handed over to the government video clips of the strikes, a federal minister said.

Hansraj Ahir said there is a process for putting such issues in perspective which was duly followed by the army as well as the government.

"The laid down procedure has been followed…. There was a time when written documents were submitted. Now the times have changed. Now clips are given and the clips have been given," he told reporters here.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and a Congress leader of Mumbai Sanjay Nirupam had asked the government to release the proof of the surgical strikes to counter the Pakistani propaganda against the operation.

However, army and intelligence experts have disfavoured of sharing evidence.

On the intervening night of last Wednesday-Thursday, Indian army's special personnel had carried out the strikes targeting seven to eight terror launch pads in Pakistan- occupied territory. The army said "significant casualties" had been caused in the strikes seen as retaliation for the September 18 attack by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed on an army camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri last month in which 19 Indian soldiers were killed.