Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Kargil War hero Brigadier (Retd) Khushal Thakur on Thursday said national security was an important issue in the country and political parties should discuss it in Lok Sabha polls.

He, however, advised not to use surgical or airstrikes for political gains and said this practice should be avoided.

Addressing media persons, Khushal Thakur said there had been a paradigm shift in the approach to tackle terrorism and national security after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over in 2014.

“As I was part of Kargil War, I have noticed that Indian Army’s main objective was push back terrorists back to Pakistan who had transgressed into Indian territory,” he said, adding the policy was right at that time.

But Pakistan after defeat in 1965, 1971 and 1999 had waged proxy war against India which was more dangerous than the real one. The main objective of such war is to hurt the country economically and psychologically, he said.

Thakur said before PM Modi led BJP government, the approach of the governments was to wait for terrorists to ingress into our territory and then eliminate them on this side.

“But PM Modi government adopted new doctrine and it was for the first time in independent India’s history that our forces crossed Line of Control and eliminated terrorists on Pakistani soil, he said.

“It marks a paradigm shift from the previous approach to tackle terror,” said Thakur, adding the political aim and will determine the action of armed forces.

He said the war or fight against terror was not a business of money or material but it’s a matter of life and death.

Terming External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s participation at Guest of Honour in a meeting of Organisation of Islamic States as a major diplomatic success of Modi government, he said it was despite the fact that India carried out airstrikes in Balakot and Pakistan’s strong objection.

He said the strong political will and leadership of PM Modi led to the designation of Masood Azhar as a global terrorist and implementation of ‘One Rank, One Pension’ (OROP) scheme.

The Congress-led UPA government had made Rs 500 crore for implementation of ‘OROP’ but after BJP came into power, Rs 10,000 crore was sanctioned for the same and so far, benefits worth over Rs 35,000 had been provided to ex-servicemen and their families.

He lashed at Congress party for promising abolition of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and sedition law and said it would hurt the cause and morale of armed forces in the country.

“The poll manifesto of Congress party is against armed forces as it would lead to soldiers being dragged into unnecessary litigations in conflict zones,” he said.

He even lashed at opposition parties for not taking part in meeting on the issues of four-lane affected persons in Himachal and said it was the BJP government which formed grievance redressal committees while the Congress only kept avoiding these issues.