Army hands over 'surgical' strike footage to PM office

New Delhi - "We have said that Pakistan is running a propaganda about the Indian Army, so it should be responded to."

 Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir on Wednesday said footage of the surgical strike across the Line of Control (LoC) has been submitted to the Prime Minister's Office by the Army.
He said decision on sharing the video has not been taken yet, and any such call can only be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ahir however did not comment if the government is planning to release the video.
"The footage has been handed over to the government by the Army," Ahir told IANS on phone from Mumbai.
Asked if the government planned to share the video, he said: "No such decision has been taken yet, a call can only be taken by the Prime Minister."
"A nation has its own policies and one needs to practise restraint. People like Sanjay Nirupam and Arvind Kejriwal listen to Pakistan. The DGMO did the briefing and everyone in India believes it," the minister said.
Officials from the Defence Ministry meanwhile said there were no discussions on releasing of the video. The officials did not specify if a final stand on the issue has been taken.
Meanwhile, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Wednesday the central government should pro-actively counter Pakistan's propaganda about the surgical strikes by Indian soldiers.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader added that the Bharatiya Janata Party and sections of the media were misrepresenting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's comments on the issue.
"Those who have seen Kejriwal's video have praised it a lot. He has said that at the international level, Washington Post, CNN are making fun of us.
"We are telling the PM that the Indian Army has courageously responded to Pakistan and the central government has to respond with the same courage to this propaganda.
"Is it wrong to expect the prime minister or the central government to respond to such propaganda?" Sisodia asked at a media event in Panaji. Sisodia was in Goa to induct a bureaucrat in the AAP ahead of the 2017 state assembly polls.
"Today, the Indian soldier is fighting in adverse circumstances. He is protecting India. Because of him, Delhi, Goa and the entire country is safe.
"If he is doing all this and at the same time also staying away from his family, can he not expect that when others hurl allegations at him by Pakistan, then the Indian government should respond to it?" Sisodia said. Sisodia accused the media and the BJP of misrepresenting facts.
"We have said that Pakistan is running a propaganda about the Indian Army, so it should be responded to."
"We have asked the central government to respond to this propaganda being made internationally. The media or the BJP have just added the 'evidence' word."
"Kejriwal has not used the words 'evidence' or 'video'," Sisodia said, accusing the BJP of politicising the issue. On Tuesday, two young men threw ink on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the state's Bikaner city, police said, adding both have been detained"

• India