'CWC is Pakistan Working Committee': BJP slams Congress over Channi's Balakot remark

NEW DELHI: BJP MP Sambit Patra on Saturday tore into the Congress after its leader and former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi questioned the authenticity of India’s surgical strikes in 2019. Branding the Congress Working Committee (CWC) as the "Pakistan Working Committee," Patra accused the opposition party of echoing enemy lines and undermining national security just days after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack.

“From the outside, they are the Congress Working Committee (CWC), but from the inside, they are PWC (Pakistan Working Committee),” Patra said at a press conference.

He accused the opposition party of orchestrating a deliberate attempt to cast doubts on India’s military actions in response to the 2019 Pulwama attack. “CWC meeting was held yesterday, and some proposals were passed. Hathi ke daant dikhane ke aur, khane ke aur (a wolf in sheep’s clothing). Right after that, a press conference was held, and former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi said that the surgical strike had never been conducted after the Pulwama terrorist attack,” Patra said.

The controversy erupted on Friday when Channi, now a Congress MP, said he had “never seen” where the strike happened, demanding proof of the operation.

“To date, I could not find where the (surgical) strike took place, where men were killed at that time, and where this happened in Pakistan. Will we not find out if a bomb is dropped in our country? They say that they did a surgical strike in Pakistan. Nothing had happened. Nowhere was a surgical strike seen. Nobody came to know... I have always demanded (proof),” Channi said at a press conference.

Patra accused the Congress of repeatedly weakening the nation’s position. “This is a planned vision of Congress, where, on the one hand, Kharge will say something about the resolution, and on the other hand, Channi will hold a parallel conference and doubt the surgical strikes. Congress does not leave any opportunity to provide oxygen to the Pakistani terrorists and the Pakistani Army,” he said.

Scaling up his allegations, Patra also cited remarks made by Assam chief minister and party colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma, claiming that Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi had stayed in Islamabad for 15 days.

“In an interview recently, I heard Himanta Biswa Sarma say that a senior leader of the Congress party crossed the Attari border and stayed in Pakistan for 15 days. He did not take a flight to protect himself from getting caught and crossed from the Attari border. He stayed in Islamabad for 15 days, and Himanta Biswa Sarma also said that his children are also not residents of India,” Patra alleged.

The BJP has condemned Channi’s comments as an insult to the armed forces, accusing the Congress of playing politics over national security and giving a platform to narratives that align with Pakistan’s interests.


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