NEW DELHI: After the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan acknowledged loss of India fighter jets by Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, the Congress on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Government for ‘misleading the nation’, reiterating its demand of a special Parliament session to explain damages suffered during the four-day conflict and also the role of US in brokering ceasefire.
Congress President and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge demanded a comprehensive review of India's defence preparedness by an independent expert committee following the remarks made by CDS during an TV interview in Singapore.
“In the wake of the remarks made by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in Singapore in an interview, there are some very important questions which need to be asked. These can only be asked if a Special Session of the Parliament is immediately convened. The Modi Govt has misled the nation. The fog of war is now clearing,” said Kharge.
He also reiterated that the Congress supports the Indian armed forces. “Our IAF pilots were risking their lives fighting the enemy. We have suffered some losses, but our pilots were safe. As per CDS's interview, "we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days and flew all our jets again, targeting at long range". We salute their resolute courage and bravery,” Kharge said.
Latching on to the comment by the CDS, Congress leader Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the country wanted to know whether any aircraft were downed during the conflict.
“A government has to be transparent. Accountability is normal in a democracy. This is not about patriotism. We are more patriotic. Our first family, the Gandhi family, themselves suffered and have made huge sacrifices for the integrity of the country and these people question us. This is really shocking, bizarre,” the Congress leader said.
Referring to repeated claims about negotiating truce between India and Pakistan by US president Donald Trump, Kharge insisted on clarification from Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that US involvement is a ‘direct affront to the Shimla Agreement’.
“PM Modi is on an election blitz, taking personal credit for the valour of our Armed forces, hiding behind their bravery and dodging the contours of the agreed ceasefire, which the foreign secretary announced on 10th (May), after Mr. Trump’s tweet. …Is India and Pakistan now again hyphenated? What are the conditions of the ceasefire agreement?,” the Congress leader posted on ‘X’.
He further demanded a comprehensive review of India’s defence preparedness by an independent expert committee on the lines of the Kargil Review Committee set up by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999.
Putting emphasis on the formation of the review committee, Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh said that the Committee was formed three days after the Kargil War ended and it had submitted its detailed report five months later.
“On July 29, 1999, the Vajpayee Govt set up the Kargil Review Committee under the chairmanship of India's strategic affairs guru K Subrahmanyam - whose son is now our External Affairs Minister… The report titled ‘From Surprise to Reckoning’ was then laid on the Table of both Houses of Parliament on Feb 23, 2000 after the necessary redactions. Will the Modi Govt now take a similar step in light of what the Chief of Defence Staff has just revealed in Singapore?,” he also wrote on ‘X’.
