Congress questions central govt after killing of 4 Army men in Doda encounter

New Delhi, July 16: Hours after the killing of 4 soldiers including an Army officer was reported from the encounter site in Doda, Jammu Kashmir, the Congress launched an attack on the central government. The opposition party questioned the government saying that there had been 11 terror attacks in 78 days in Jammu alone.

Party MP Jairam Ramesh in a post on X said "There have been 11 terror attacks in the last 78 days in Jammu alone. This is a wholly new development. While we must demonstrate an effective collective response cutting across political parties, the question must also be asked: what happened to all those grand claims made by the self-anointed non-biological PM and the self-styled Chanakya?"

Party President Mallikarjun Kharge also questioned the Central government alleging that the government was acting as if it were business as usual.

"Deeply distressed by the martyrdom of 4 brave Army soldiers, including an officer, in a terror encounter in Jammu & Kashmir's Doda. Our heart goes out to the families of our bravehearts, who made the supreme sacrifice in the service of Bharat Mata. Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured, and we wish them a speedy and complete recovery. No words of strong and unequivocal condemnation will suffice for these acts of violence being perpetrated by cowardly terrorists. The spate of terror attacks that has gripped Jammu and Kashmir in the past 36 days, needs careful recalibration in our security strategy. Modi Govt is acting as if everything is "business as usual" and nothing has changed. They must know that increasingly Jammu region is bearing the brunt of these attacks. We cannot endanger our National Security by indulging in false bravado, fake narratives and high-decibel whitewashing. As a nation, we have to collectively fight the scourge of cross-border terrorism. The Indian National Congress stands strongly with our valiant Armed Forces," the Congress president posted on X.

Earlier, Union Minister Jitendra Singh while condoling the deaths of the soldiers killed in action called for people to come together to defeat the enemy.

"Deeply disturbed by the reports of an armed encounter in the Dessa area of district #Doda in my Lok Sabha constituency. Words fall short of condoling and condemning the martyrdom of our Bravehearts. Let all of us join together to defeat the nefarious designs of the enemy and, maintain peace and harmony for which Doda has always been known for," he posted on X.

Four Indian Army soldiers, including an officer, have been killed in action during the encounter that took place on Tuesday. "Four Indian Army soldiers, including an officer, have been killed in action during an encounter with terrorists in the Doda area of Jammu and Kashmir. The operations are still going on," Defence officials said.

According to officials, a joint operation was launched by the Army and Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday evening following an exchange of fire with terrorists in the Dessa area of the district. They said that additional troops have been called in to tighten the cordon.

Meanwhile, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday spoke with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to brief him on the encounter in Doda.