New Delhi, Mar 5 (IT): Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked him to clear the "doubts" cast by the international media on the terrorists' deaths in the airstrike carried out by India in Pakistan's Balakot.

In a series of tweets, Digvijaya Singh asked PM Modi to speak about the Balakot airstrike as the country wanted to who is lying. However, as Singh went on to corner the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, he ended up terming the Pulwama terrorist attack, in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed by the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), an "accident".

"We are proud of the bravery of your forces and have complete faith on them. I have seen many of my friends and close relatives in the Army leaving their families and protecting us. We respect them," Singh tweeted.

"However, the IAF carried out an airstrike after the Pulwama accident, some foreign media have cast doubts, which is putting a question mark on the credibility of our Indian government," Singh said on Twitter.

Twitterati went all out on him for describing the deadly Pulwama terror attack as a mere "accident".

Digvijaya Singh also asked PM Modi to clarify on BJP chief Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union minister SS Ahluwalia's statements on the number of terrorists killed by the IAF on Balakot airstrike.

"Prime minister ji, some of your ministers say 300 terrorists were killed, BJP chief says 250 were killed, Yogi Adityanath says 400 killed, and your minister SS Alhuwalia says not even one died. And you are silent on this topic. The country wants to know who the liar here is. [sic]," Singh said

Singh said the way PM Modi and his ministers were treating the airstrike was an "insult" to the forces who carried out the operation.

"The way you and your ministers are treating this airstrike as your success, it is an insult to the bravery of the security forces. Every citizen of the country respects the Indian Army and security forces," the Congress leader said.

Union minister Prakash Javadekar, reacting to Digvijaya Singh's Pulwama accident tweet, said: "What has happened to Congress? They are playing with people's sentiments and are denying the information of Indian armed forces. This never happens in any democratic nation where the people do not trust their forces."

A war of words over the Indian Air Force airstrikes in Balakot has broken out between Congress and the BJP as both the sides traded charges against each other. Both the sides have accused each other for politicising the IAF airstrike.

The result of the counter-terrorism operation in Balakot has been a hot topic of political debate in India -- Congress leader Kapil Sibal asked if PM Modi was "politicising terror", pointing to several news reports saying India's airstrikes did not kill terrorists in Pakistan.

Union minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, replying to Kapil Sibal's comment, blasted the latter for "believing international media over the intelligence agencies". He went on to add that Sibal should travel to Balakot himself to check if any terrorists were killed.

West Bengal Mamata Banerjee asked for details last week, citing media reports that either said there were no deaths, or that one person has been killed.

Asked about the West Bengal chief minister's remarks, former Union Minister P Chidambaram said at the India Today Conclave that he was prepared to believe the government, but "the world cannot be asked to suspend disbelief".

Meanwhile, Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa on Monday (March 4) said Indian Air Force warplanes hit their intended target. "If we plan to hit the target, we hit the target," he told reporters in Coimbatore. "If we had dropped bombs in the jungle, then no need for him [Pakistan] to respond."