Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh on Monday said the Narendra Modi government hadn’t so far explained how the Pulwama attack, which killed more than 40 CRPF jawans, happened in 2019.

Addressing a public meeting in the course of Bharat Jodo Yatra, Digvijaya said: “The Pulwama incident happened; more than 40 CRPF jawans were killed. Why? CRPF director had demanded that the jawans be airlifted because this is a sensitive zone. But Modi didn’t agree. Pulwama was a terror-hit zone. Why were the jawans not given aeroplane?”

Digvijaya added: “Every single vehicle is checked in Pulwama. A Scorpio vehicle comes from the wrong direction. Why was that not checked? It hit the CRPF convoy, killing our jawans. Till today, the details of that incident have not been presented in Parliament or before the people. They talk of surgical strike, but there is no proof. They grabbed power only by propagating lies. I have never seen such an ustad of lies in politics”.

As a controversy erupted, Digvijaya posted a separate video on his Twitter handle saying: “In Pulwama, our 40 jawans were killed. So far, the government hasn’t found where the 300kg RDX came from. The government hasn’t clarified why DSP Davinder Singh who was caught with terrorists was let off. Where is he today? Why was a case of treason not filed against him?”

Davinder Singh was sacked on charges of having links with terrorists but a case against him was not pursued in the interest of national security. Questions were raised by the Opposition parties on the Modi government’s reluctance to punish him even when he was found guilty and dismissed from service.

The BJP and television channels attacked Digvijaya for questioning the surgical strike and the army’s valour by selectively picking the proof bit of his argument.

The Congress came under pressure by the evening, leading the party’s communication chief Jairam Ramesh to tweet: “The views expressed by senior leader Digvijaya Singh are his own and do not reflect the position of Congress. Surgical strikes were carried out before 2014 by the UPA government. Congress has supported and will continue to support all military actions that are in the national interest.”

The Congress doesn’t want to derail the political discourse by allowing the BJP the excuse to divert attention to the military and Pakistan. They are determined to keep their focus on the issues raised by the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

However, the party’s clarification didn’t rebut Digvijaya’s position on the lapses in Pulwama and the mystery around Davinder Singh.

Digvijaya has raised this issue several times in the past, wondering how 300kg of RDX were brought to the sensitive and fully-secured area of Jammu & Kashmir when paramilitary movement was taking place on that route.

Some time back, when he was branded a traitor and Pakistani agent for raising similar questions, he dared the Modi government to file an FIR and arrest him. But the BJP instead concentrated on creating a hype around the allegation that the Congress was questioning the valour of the Indian soldiers.

The Congress repeatedly clarified that it had the highest respect for the Indian Army and paramilitary forces and it was only questioning the political decision of not allowing them the airlift facility and the outcome of the investigation into the Pulwama tragedy.