Rahul Gandhi was first to salute IAF, says P Chidambaram, claiming government must 'make the effort' over casualty numbers

Former Home Minister of India P Chidambaram has launched a scathing attack at the BJP, getting more specific over his party and the Opposition's allegations of politicisation - by the ruling party - of the February 26 air-strikes by the Indian Air Force on Pakistani terror factories.

Taking to Twitter, Chidambaram prefaces his statement by stating that Rahul Gandhi was among the first to congratulate the Indian Air Force post the strikes, and then takes on BJP party chief Amit Shah's assertion over how many terrorist foot-soldiers and handlers had been killed: 

This is the tweet by Rahul Gandhi Chidambaram is referencing:

Chidambaram then places the onus on the government to 'make the effort' while remaining nebulous as to how:

Chidambaram's fellow UPA minister has essentially made the same statement, also referencing IAF Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor:

Addressing the joint Indian Army-Air Force-Navy press briefing, AVM RGK Kapoor had said:

"There is fairly credible evidence with us which proves that there was damage to the camps. Weapons hit the intended target and that they caused the damage that was intended."

The Air Vice Marshal had added:

"Whatever we intended to destroy we have got the effect that we desired. We have evidence to show that whatever we wanted to do and targets we wanted to destroy, we have done that. The decision to show the evidence is on senior leadership."

"However, it would be premature to say that what is the number of casualties that we have been able to inflict on those camps and what is the number of deaths.".

Another Congress leader, former UPA minister Kapil Sibal had cited foreign media while questioning the potency of the strikes:

And before that, on Saturday, Digvijaya Singh had also sought proof for the strikes: