Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Sept 22: Amid strong posturing by India and impulsive rhetoric by a section following the Uri attack, Congress leader Karan Singh today appealed for exercising restraint, saying millions of innocent people should not be made to suffer in the name of punishing the perpetrators of the strike.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that those behind the attack will be punished, he said, “We must not end up punishing millions of innocent men, women and children including our own citizens.”
In a statement, Singh, who was also governor of Jammu and Kashmir, expressed deep anguish over the manner in which the talk of “nuclear war” is being “bandied” in a section of the media.
“Do we have any idea of the massive havoc and destruction that any nuclear engagement would necessarily involve on both sides? I must urge that despite our deep anguish, we have to maintain a sense of balance and proportion,” he said.
Singh, whose father Maharaja Hari Singh had agreed to accede to India by signing the Instrument of Accession in October 1947, said there was a need to view the whole situation in its proper perspective and take action as may be appropriate.