Narendra Modi: Rafale jets would have made a difference is what I said

Modi speaks at the inauguration of various development projects, in Jamnagar, Gujarat, on Monday. Pic/PTI

Asking Opposition parties to use common sense, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday slammed them for questioning his statement that the presence of Rafale fighter jets would have given greater firepower to the IAF during the February 27 aerial engagement with Pakistan.

IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa declined to comment on the PM's statement that Rafale jets would have made a difference. "I said if Rafale was acquired in time it would have made a difference (during the February 27 dogfight), but they (Opposition parties) say Modi is questioning our air force strike," Modi said, addressing a gathering in Jamnagar.

"Please use common sense. What I said was if we had Rafale at the time, then none of our fighter jets would have gone down and none of theirs saved," he added. "If they (Opposition) don't understand me what can I do. They have their own limitations," he told the audience during his 40-minute speech rendered in Gujarati.

BJP claims don't match that of IAF's
Questioning BJP President Amit Shah's claims on the February 26 airstrikes, the Congress and AAP slammed him and his party for not trusting the armed forces and "milking the air strikes for politics". Responding to Shah's claim that more than 250 terrorists were killed in the airstrikes, the two parties said the BJP's claims were not in line with the Air Force statement in this regard.

J&K: Parties want concurrent elections
Political parties, which met the EC team, have favoured holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and Assembly in J&K. Senior leaders of NC, including Ali Muhammad Sagar, Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan and Nasir Aslam Wani, the PDP, including Abdul Rehman Veeri and Haq Khan, and Congress' Taj Mohiuddin and Usman Majeed met the EC team.

IAF doesn't count casualties: Dhanoa
Sidestepping a raging debate on the number of casualties in the Balakot strike, IAF Chief B S Dhanoa said it is for the government to provide details on the terrorists killed and the IAF only sees if a target has been hit or not. The IAF doesn't count human casualties, Dhanoa said, as the figure of how many terrorists were killed in Balakot remained unclear.

'Committed to peace'
P Chidambaram,
senior Congress leader
'As a proud citizen, I am prepared to believe my government. But if we want the world to believe, the government must make the effort (to explain), not indulge in Opposition-bashing'

Ram Nath Kovind,
President
'India remains firmly committed to peace, but in case the need arises, we will use all our might to protect the nation's sovereignty. I am confident that our valiant men and women in uniform will rise to the occasion'

Arvind Kejriwal,
Delhi chief minister
'The armed forces are also saying this. Amit Shah is saying that the armed forces are lying, 250 (terrorists) were killed. Amit Shah is calling the armed forces a liar. The country will not tolerate this under any circumstances'

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