Noida, March 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday lashed out at his critics, including a major section of the Opposition, who have raised doubts over the casualties suffered by Pakistan in the air raids carried out in Balakot on February 26. Modi said the neighbouring nation was rattled by the pre-emptive action, yet his opponents are seeking "evidence".

To catch Pakistan by surprise, said Modi, he decided to carry out air raids instead of using the on ground forces to carry out a surgical strike. "They had deployed their men fearing another surgical strike by Modi. But we decided use the aerial route," the PM added. Amit Shah Says IAF Air Strike on Pakistan Killed More Than 250 Terrorists.

"After the strike, we kept quiet. But Pakistan began crying the morning at 5am," Modi said, further claiming that it was "their sympathisers in India" who first raised doubts on the Balakot strike.

"For first 4-5 hours, they began a debate asking whether Balakot is adjacent to our Kashmir or located in the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). Then when the truth emerged, they were left speechless," Modi said.

Watch: Video of PM Modi Hitting Out at Those Doubting the Balakot Strike

On February 26, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out pre-dawn strikes at the largest camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The "pre-emptive" action came days after the JeM carried out an attack in Jammu & Kashmir's Pulwama, which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF jawans.

Following the Pulwama terror strike, demands were raised by the Opposition seeking accountability from Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

In an apparent retort to such demands, Modi said, "Links of attacks and blasts earlier also were connected to Pakistan, but what did the earlier governments do? They just changed the Home Minister. Now you tell me, in such situations should the home minister be changed or the policy?"

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2019 04:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).