New Delhi, May 19 -- Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday launched a fresh attack on External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, saying his silence on the number of aircraft India "lost" after Pakistan was "informed" about the military action under Operation Sindoor is "damning".
The BJP hit back, accusing Gandhi of speaking the "language of Pakistan" and asking whether the Congress party was truly serious about supporting the nation.
Gandhi had earlier also targeted Jaishankar on the issue, suggesting that the Indian side informed Pakistan ahead of the military strikes on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had described Gandhi's claims that Jaishankar acknowledged India having alerted Pakistan before the launch of Operation Sindoor on May 7 as "utter misrepresentation".
"EAM Jaishankar's silence isn't just telling, it's damning. So I'll ask again: How many Indian aircraft did we lose because Pakistan knew?" he asked in a post on X.
"This wasn't a lapse. It was a crime. And the nation deserves the truth," Gandhi also said.
The Congress leader earlier shared an undated video clip of Jaishankar and wrote, "Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI (Government of India) did it."
"Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result," the Congress leader asked.
"The external affairs minister had stated that we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Operation Sindoor's commencement," the external publicity (XP) division of the ministry said.
Union minister Pralhad Joshi attacked Gandhi saying he misquoted the MEA. "Rahul Gandhi seems to have learned nothing from his past mistakes. He continues to disrespect the Nation's Armed Forces by questioning how many jets were lost - despite clear statements from the IAF and MEA confirming there were no asset losses.
"He misquotes the MEA, even though the DGMO clarified in his May 11 briefing that India had made efforts to communicate with its counterparts. Is the Congress party truly serious about supporting the nation? Their actions suggest otherwise," Joshi said in a post on X.
BJP IT Department head Amit Malviya said in a post on X, "Rahul Gandhi's daftness is not merely incidental. It is sinister. Rahul Gandhi must desist from distorting facts. India knows who he truly speaks for."
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari alleged that the Congress leader's comments mirrored Pakistan's propaganda.
"Rahul Gandhi's ignorance isn't just random - it's dangerous," he said, accusing Gandhi of toeing a "pro-Pakistan line".
"The deliberate twisting of facts by Rahul Gandhi is not a slip. It's a calculated move to feed a hostile narrative. When India stands united against terror, he chooses to sow confusion and Pakistan celebrates it,"
he added.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.