Former Union minister Arun Shourie called the NDA government’s surgical strikes against Pakistan “farzical” or fake, a TV news channel has reported.

Senior journalist and a member of the BJP, Shourie was attending the book launch of 'Kashmir: Glimpses of History', written by Congress leader Saifuddin Soz, who stoked a controversy by saying if given a choice, the people of Kashmir will choose independence.

Shourie castigated the Centre for taking credit and patting itself for the job that the Indian Army actually does on ground. He clarified that he used the word “farzical” for the government and not the army, adding that there has been no improvement in the ground situation even after the surgical strike.

On being asked about the current situation in Kashmir, Shourie said sooner or later, the people of India will realise that the unrest in Kashmir affects the entire nation and not just the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

He was quoted by ANI as saying, “There is no government and no policy regarding Kashmir or Pakistan or even the banks ... What we have is a one-trick horse that only knows how to divide the Hindus and Muslims of this country."

According to Shourie, the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “election oriented” and their focus is to launch events and campaigns to win elections without caring much about governance or policy.

On the recently formulated “all-out action” policy of the government, Shourie said this would pave the way for “more aggressive target killings of individuals” and it would not be wise to use “foolish force” against people.