‘Last resort’: Siddaramaiah after 'no need for war' remark gets Pak media coverage, BJP calls him 'Pakistan Ratna'

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah offered a clarification on Sunday following a backlash over his statement against conflict with Pakistan in the aftermath of the recent Pahalgam terrorist assault. When asked about India's reaction to the terror assault on Saturday, the chief minister said there was no need for war, but strong and efficient security measures must be implemented. "Peace should reign throughout the country. Siddaramaiah continued, "The Centre must strengthen security to protect the people."

The Karnataka chief minister issued a clarification on Sunday after the Bharatiya Janata Party cited Pakistan media allegations regarding Siddaramaih's words and referred to him as 'Pakistan Ratna'. The Congress leader stated that war should always be used as a last resort, and that it should only be considered when all other options for defeating the enemy have failed.

"War should always be a nation's last resort, not the first or only one. Only when all other options for defeating the adversary have failed should a country be forced to go to war," he wrote in a post on the social networking platform X.