India, May 30 -- Amid a major controversy over Shashi Tharoor's statements on surgical strikes, the Congress on Thursday reiterated its claim that six such military operations were carried out during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, moved quickly to debunk what it called a "lie".

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had invited massive criticism from within his party over his statement that India conducted its first surgical strike in response to a terror attack in 2016.

Senior Congress leader and party general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewal, though, backed the "seasoned and experienced" Tharoor, he also insisted that the leader was wrong about the surgical strikes.

"Congress party only c...