No losses to military assets in Operation Sindoor, says Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in the Lok Sabha on Monday that the Indian defence forces did not lose any of their military assets during Operation Sindoor.

 

He also rejected, as did External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the claims by United States (US) President Donald Trump that he mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, which ended the four-day conflict between the two neighbours in the evening of May 10.

 

Singh at 2 pm initiated the special discussion in the Lok Sabha on “India’s strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam”, with Jaishankar taking part in the discussion in the evening. In his intervention, Jaishankar said that at no stage in any conversation with the US did trade have a bearing on Operation Sindoor. He said the request for halting the military action came from the Pakistan side.

 

 

Responding to the Opposition’s criticism of India’s foreign policy, the external affairs minister said it was to the credit of India’s diplomacy that The Resistance Front (TRF), the terror group behind the Pahalgam terror attack, had been designated a global terror organisation by the US.

 

“On May 10, we received phone calls sharing the impression of other countries that Pakistan was ready to cease the fighting. Our position was that if Pakistan was ready, we needed to get this as a request from the Pakistani side through the DGMO (director-general of military operations) channel. That is exactly how that request came,” Jaishankar said.

 

“I want to make two things very clear: At no stage in any conversation with the US was there any linkage (between) trade and what was going on. Secondly, there was no call between the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and President Trump from April 22, when President Trump called up to convey his sympathy, till June 17, when he called up, the PM, who was in Canada, explained why he could not meet him,” he said.

 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who came in for criticism from the Congress’ Gaurav Gogoi for the security establishment failing to prevent the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, in which terrorists killed 26 people, will address the House on Tuesday.

 

As the lead speaker from the Congress, and speaking after the defence minister, Gogoi said the home minister must take responsibility for the “security lapses” that allowed the Pahalgam terror attack.

 

Gogoi, the Congress’ deputy leader in the House, said 100 days had passed since the terror attack but the government has not brought the terrorists to justice.

 

“Who will take responsibility, the (Jammu and Kashmir) Lieutenant Governor (LG)? It is the home minister who must take responsibility. You cannot hide behind the LG. This government is so weak that it even blamed tour operators for the Pahalgam attack,” Gogoi said. He asked the government to clarify how many Indian jets were downed during Operation Sindoor. Alluding to the US President’s claims on using trade as a threat to ensure a ceasefire, Gogoi asked whether the Prime Minister “surrendered” to halt the military action against Pakistan. He pointed at Trump’s statement that five jets were downed during the conflict, and urged the government to tell the country the truth. He also pointed out that the defence minister did not mention China, which supported Pakistan with military hardware, even once during his speech.

 

An hour before the Lok Sabha sat to discuss Operation Sindoor, Srinagar-based Chinar Corps of the Indian Army posted on X that the Army’s elite para commandos gunned down three terrorists under Operation Mahadev. According to a PTI report, officials said the alleged mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack, along with two of his associates, were killed in an encounter that took place around 11.30 am.

 

The defence minister, in his hour-long speech, suggested that the Opposition was not asking the right questions. “It is the Opposition’s job to ask questions of the government. Our Opposition members kept asking how many of our aircraft were shot down, but they never asked how many Pakistani planes our forces had shot down,” Singh said. “If you want to ask questions, then ask if any of our soldiers were harmed in this operation. The answer is no, none of our soldiers was harmed.”

 

During Singh’s speech, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi sought to know why Operation Sindoor was halted. “Aapne roki kyon (why did you halt),” asked Gandhi, a question that had ruling party members on their feet. The minister said he had already spoken about it and the Leader of Opposition should listen to his speech. The ministers faulted the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government for not taking action against Pakistan after the 26/11 terror attacks, and also for signing the 2009 Sharm-El-Sheikh agreement.

 

The discussion will continue on Tuesday.