Army chief Bipin Rawat says more surgical strikes possible

New Delhi: Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat, who took over from Dalbir Singh Suhag, has said that India has the right to conduct more surgical strikes across the border if necessary.

In an interview to NDTV, Rawat said that the surgical strikes were meant to ‘send out a message’.

"If there are terrorist bases across and if they continue to disrupt the situation on our side of the LoC, then we have a right to take action against the terrorists, who are being supported from across by the adversary," he added.

As the Vice-Chief of Army Staff during the surgical strikes, Rawat had personally overseen the operation. He said they had been conducted in a well planned manner.

Extensive preparation was carried out and then it was executed, he said. The plans were kept on a need to know basis to ensure safety of the troops and the strike was being monitored "real time", he added.

Rawat, who was picked for the top job superseding two senior officers, credited his predecessor Dalbir Singh Suhag for the well-planned attack.

Perhaps commenting upon the outrage in the Opposition due to supercession of officers, Rawat said a government decision cannot be "influenced by individuals".

"We have broken bread a number of times, we have grown up together so I think we understand each other,” he said of the two officers - Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, who headed the Eastern Command and Southern Command Chief PM Hariz – whom he had superseded.