Just days after the Congress leadership urged its members to align on the party’s strong stance against the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, MP Charanjit Singh Channi triggered controversy by questioning the visibility of India’s 2016 surgical strike on Pakistan.

Channi, a former Punjab chief minister, appeared to conflate the 2016 strike with the 2019 Balakot air strike. He told reporters, “They say a surgical strike happened… but it wasn’t visible, no one noticed.” When asked if he sought evidence, he initially affirmed that he had always asked for proof. However, he later retracted, insisting that he never questioned the Army and that the Congress supports the government’s action “like a rock.”

His statement sparked a sharp political firestorm. BJP leaders slammed the Congress for “discrediting the armed forces.” Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the Congress repeatedly doubted the Army while siding with Pakistan. BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari went further, accusing the Congress of “defending Pakistani terror.”

Facing growing outrage, Channi later clarified: “We never asked for proof. The focus must be on delivering justice to victims. The Congress fully backs any step against Pakistan.”

In 2016, following the Uri base attack that killed 19 soldiers, India had conducted cross-border strikes on terror launchpads. The Congress Working Committee, post-Pahalgam, has now passed a resolution urging decisive and globally coordinated action to hold Pakistan accountable.