Daijiworld Media Network (SR)
New Delhi, May 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sparked yet another controversy on Saturday through his comment “clouds and rain can prevent Pakistani radars from detecting Indian fighter jets during the Balakot air strike”.
Talking about the Balakot plan in an interview by TV channel News Nation PM Modi said, "The weather suddenly turned bad, there were clouds... heavy rain. There was a doubt about whether we can go in the clouds. During a review, by and large the opinion of experts was - what if we change the date. I had two issues in mind. One was secrecy.. second, I said I am not someone who knows the science. I said there is so much cloud and rain. There is a benefit. I have a raw vision, the clouds can benefit us too. We can escape the radar. Everyone was confused. Ultimately I said there are clouds... let's proceed."
In the wee hours of February 26, days after 40 soldiers were killed in Pulwama by a suicide bomber of the Jaish, Indian Air Force jets crossed over to Pakistani territory to target a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror training facility in Balakot.
PM Modi's account of the strikes was tweeted from the ruling BJP's official handle, along with a text that says "the weather was not good on the day of airstrikes. There was a thought that crept in the minds of the experts that day of strike should be changed. However, I suggested that the clouds can actually help our planes escape the radars." However, the party had later removed it from the timeline.
The original tweet is, however, visible in a flurry of reactions on Twitter. Left leader Sitaram Yechury said: "National security is not something to be trifled with. Such an irresponsible statement from Modi is highly damaging. Somebody like this can't remain India's PM."
Regarding the controversial comment, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted “Pakistani radar doesn’t penetrate clouds. This is an important piece of tactical information that will be critical when planning future air strikes.”
As per an NDTV report, the Indian jets, in fact, couldn't launch six Crystal Maze missiles that day and the clouds did affect the operation. These missiles were meant to beam back footage as they struck their targets. Though the Air Force did hit targets using Spice munitions, the video feed of the Crystal Maze strike meant to showcase the destruction of the terror camp, never materialised because of clouds that day.
According to experts, ‘reliable' Bomb Damage Assessment (BDA) could not be gathered since the missile with the video feed was not launched due to clouds. Air forces around the world use this assessment to see the results of any air strike. There is a possibility that the Prime Minister meant Lidar, which is laser-based and cannot penetrate clouds because it uses visible light. PM Modi, however, clearly says radar, which can detect objects with precision under adverse weather conditions.