Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reiterated his criticism of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, calling his silence on the number of aircraft India reportedly “lost” after the minister revealed that the government had informed Pakistan at the start of Operation Sindoor “damning.”
This comes after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, addressing the media, said, “At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan saying we are striking at terrorists’ infrastructure. We are not striking at the military. So the military has an option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice.”
“This wasn’t a lapse. It was a crime. And the nation deserves the truth,” said the Leader of the Opposition.
Earlier on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi criticised the Indian government’s decision to inform Pakistan at the start of Operation Sindoor, questioning who authorised the move and highlighting the consequences, specifically asking how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost as a result.
“Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it.1. Who authorised it? 2. How many aircraft did our Air Force lose as a result?” he asked.
Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera, during a press briefing, questioned the “relationship” between the External Affairs Minister and Pakistan that led to the advance intimation.
“This is not diplomacy, this is espionage. Everyone heard what the External Affairs Minister said. A cover-up is being done,” he said.
Khera further questioned whether this prior information allowed terrorists like Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed to escape India’s airstrikes on terror bases.
“This statement suggests that the terrorists must have fled their bases. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the External Affairs Minister must answer why this was done,” he added.
Rahul Gandhi drew a sharp response from the government, which called it “an utter misrepresentation of facts.”
The BJP has said the Leader of Opposition’s misrepresentation of the minister’s remarks “reeks of malafide intent” and questioned the timing of this charge.
BJP spokesperson C.R. Kesavan said, “Rahul Gandhi’s tweet is downright dishonest, deceptive, and dangerous as Rahul Gandhi is distorting the truth and misrepresenting facts to malign our armed forces,” and demanded that Rahul Gandhi should first withdraw and delete his tweet and tender an “unconditional apology.”
Responding to Gandhi’s claim on Saturday, a statement from the Ministry said, “EAM had stated that we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is the early phase after Op Sindoor’s commencement. This is being falsely represented as being before the commencement. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out.”
