Jammu: Congress on Saturday demanded a clarification from Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar over his 'terrorists have to be neutralised only through terrorists' remark and accused him of "reviving the notorious counter-terrorist outfit".
"What does he mean when he says a terrorist can be a neutralized terrorist. When he says, 'why should my soldiers do it all the time?', does he mean the state government should revive the notorious counter-terrorist outfit?", Congress Legislature Party leader Rigzin Jora said.
"There could be a clandestine yet well-thought out plan to revive the counter insurgent outfit, and the Defense Minister, given his lack of experience in handling such clandestine mission leaked out the information inadvertently," he alleged.
The former minister added "If this is the case, it would be very unfortunate because the past decade has seen sharp decline in acts of militancy and terrorism without the need for such counter insurgent outfit."
Jora expressed disappointment at "one of the senior-most ministers of the Modi government who on his visit to the state chooses to use a language that is unbecoming of the high office he holds".
"Whether it is the soldiers of the defense forces, paramilitary or the police force of the state, they are all our soldiers, our personnel our policemen. All of them have sacrificed their lives for the unity and integrity of this country. More so in Kashmir than anywhere else," he said.
The CLP leader maintained that the responsibility to wipe out militancy from the state "lies with the Centre and state"
"Therefore, for the Defense Minister to distinguish my soldier from the rest of the security forces and to say why should my soldiers do it all the time, is not just uncalled for but also an attempt to create a wedge between the foot soldiers of different wings of the government," Jora said.
"What if tomorrow the Union Home Minister ends up saying why should my CRPF or BSF jawans do it all the time. The fact that state police alone cannot handle militancy and insurgency of the kind that has been prevalent in the Valley is not lost on anyone, least of all on the Defense Minister of the country," he said.
The Congress leader noted that Parrikar cannot be responsible to his soldiers alone.
Jora also took a dig at Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed for buckling under pressure in front of its coalition partner.
"It would be a sad day if Mufti Sayeed, under pressure from his coalition partner BJP, has to do so. It was Sayeed who had disbanded the outfit claims, when he was in coalition with Congress," he added.
