PM Modi will decide whether to release strike video: Union Minister Hansraj Ahir

MUMBAI: Amid the raging debate over releasing the video of the Army-led cross-LoC surgical strikes, Union Minister Hansraj Ahir said here today that it was for the Prime Minister to decide whether the footage should be made public or not.

"The PM will take a decision on whether to release the video handed over to the government by the Army," he said.

"It is unfortunate to indulge in politics over the surgical strikes. This has maligned the image of the Army," he said.

To a question on efforts undertaken by the Central government to bring home Chandu Babulal Chavan, the 22-year-old soldier of the 37 Rashtriya Rifles captured by Pakistani forces, the Union Minister of State for Home said, "We are making all efforts to bring him back. We will definitely bring him back. However, one cannot say how much time it will take."

On Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam's remark terming the surgical strikes as "fake", Ahir said, "Nirupam was in Shiv Sena and could not stay loyal to (the late Sena founder) Bal Thackeray. How can he be loyal to Congress?"