Coast Guard officer's boat claim: Congress takes on government

NEW DELHI: With a top Coast Guard officer directly contradicting government's position on Pakistan terror boat incident, Congress today asked the Defence Minister to introspect as to what was a bigger sin blowing the boat or "lying" to the nation.

"Def Min what is a bigger sin blowing the Paki boat or lying to the nation? If they were indeed terrorists why be ashamed of blowing them," Congress leader Manish Tewari tweeted.

"Uncanny similarities to similar modus operandi the fake encounter syndrome to bolster machismo & build Alpha image", he tweeted.

Tewari's remarks came in the wake of a media report in which a Deputy Inspector General of the Indian Coast Guard has said it was the Coast Guard which blew up the Pakistani boat on the night of December 31, 2014 contradicting government's stand that its crew was responsible for the explosion.

Till now the Ministry of Defence, Defence Minister and the Coast Guard have maintained that it was the boat's crew that had set it on fire or were responsible for the explosion that destroyed the vessel 365 km off Porbandar after an hour-long chase by a Coast Guard ship on New Year's Eve.

"Let me tell you.I hope you remember 31st December night...We blew off that Pakistan...We have blown them off...I was there at Gandhinagar and I told at night, blow the boat off.We don't want to serve them biryani..." DIG BK Loshali, who is also chief of staff (northwest Region), was quoted as saying in the media report.