New Delhi--   After five Indian soldiers were killed early Tuesday in Jammu and Kashmir by about 20 heavily armed terrorists along with men dressed in Pakistani Army uniform, Defence Minister A.K. Antony told parliament that the Indian Army was ready to take necessary steps to uphold the sanctity of the Line of Control (LoC). "The ambush was carried out by approximately 20 heavily armed terrorists along with persons dressed as in Pakistan Army uniform," Antony said in his suo moto statement in the two houses.His remark drew protests from Bharatiya Janata Party members. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, who sought clarifications, said the minister was giving Pakistan a chance to say that the attackers were non-state actors. However, Antony said he had made the remark as India is a responsible country. In the Lok Sabha, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha spoke on the killings but his speech was drowned out by the protesting Seemandhra MPs. 

"A patrol party of the army comprising one non-commissioned officer and five other ranks were ambushed on our side of the Line of Control in Poonch sector early Tuesday morning. In the ensuring firefight five soldiers were martyred and one was injured when," the minister said.He noted that the number of infiltration attempts have doubled this year in comparison to the corresponding period Jan 1-Aug 5, 2012. There have also been 57 ceasefire violations this year, around 80 percent more than the same period last year, he said.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha following Antony's statement, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said India needed to take firm steps in the light of the soldiers' killingambush."It should not be that we keep a soft attitude and things slip by," she said. Janardhan Waghmare of the Nationalist Congress Party said that an impression was going that India was a soft state."India being a responsible country, that is why our government made such statement... The house is speaking in one vocie, that is the beauty of Indian democracy. When the question of nation comes India is one. That is the strongest answer to our enemy according to me," he said.