Congress dismissed army's suggestion of surgical strike after 26/11 attacks: Paresh Rawal

"The idea of a surgical strike was proposed by the Army after the 26/11 attack but the Congress government had dismissed the suggestion," said Paresh Rawal while reflecting on the plot of his upcoming thriller 'Uri: The Surgical Strike'.

"Instead of standing alongside our Army and supporting them, the government said no," he said during an exclusive interaction with ANI on Tuesday. Questioning Congress' intentions behind dismissing suggestion of surgical strike during the 26/11 attack, Rawat said, "People started doubting our Army's strength. Why did the government say no? Was it worried about the vote bank?"

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Stating that PM Narendra Modi answered all the doubts that other people had about Indian Army's strength by green-flagging the surgical strike, the veteran actor said, "All these doubts were answered when Narendra Modi took a stand and said that a surgical strike will take place. It was only a matter of political will. We had a strong Army which was ready and prepared for the attack."

The 'Hera Pheri' actor also asserted that a surgical strike was necessary as a response to Pakistan army's unreasonable violent behaviour. "It was important to show Pakistan that we know how to answer them and that we surely have the strength to," he said. Speaking about his upcoming film 'Uri: The Surgical Strike', Rawat said that it is a political thriller and "is about the preparation that goes into such an attack." "You can't just go without proper planning, a lot of thought, planning plotting and preparation goes into a surgical strike," he asserted.

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The actor is a BJP MP in the Lok Sabha and has been a staunch supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the very beginning. When asked who will win the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Rawal said,  "BJP will win. And I can say with conviction. People know that this man is working selflessly for hours and hours. So it is a choice. Do you want a man who is working with honesty or do you want the people who looted the country."

Directed by Aditya Dhar, 'Uri: The Surgical Strike' is based on the Indian army's effective surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri town on September 29, 2016. The movie, which is being produced by Ronnie Screwvala, also features 'Kaabil' fame Yami Gautam, Paresh Rawal, Kirti Kulhari, and Mohit Raina in pivotal roles. It is all set to hit the theatres on January 11.