NEW DELHI: Slamming Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami’s WhatsApp chat contents, available in the public space, as "anti-national", Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday asked who in the security establishment divulged the Balakot operations to a journalist before the strikes.
He said the occurrence carried the risk of alerting Pakistan and putting the Air Force in harm’s way. Calling it a "criminal act", he alleged the leak would not be investigated because it was possible that Goswami got the secret information from top quarters.
Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja also criticised the Modi government over its continued silence on the WhatsApp chat leaks and exposures made by Mumbai Police in their chargesheet against Goswami.
CPM general secretary Yechury asked whether the government was complicit in the "grave implications for national security" that Mumbai Police’s exposures had raised, while referring to the fraudulent manipulation of TRPs. He also said the government must be made to answer.
CPI chief D Raja, on the other hand, said he was "disturbed" by the silence not only of the PM but also of defence minister Rajnath Singh, who despite repeatedly speaking of India’s security and sovereignty, had not explained how "crucial military secrets were leaked to one channel". "Modi owes an answer to the nation," he added.
Stressing on the implications of the revelations, Rahul said, "If Goswami’s WhatsApp has it, Pakistanis know it. I want to know if the PM told Goswami about it or the defence minister or the NSA or the home minister. This is a criminal act. Who gave and who received, both should go to jail."
He added, "These people call themselves patriots but there is nothing patriotic about putting our Air Force at risk, about taking political advantage so that Pakistanis know our IAF is coming. The distressing thing was that when our CRPF boys were killed, somebody was saying ‘this is going to be very good for us’. That is an anti-national act and I don’t like that language."