Today in Politics: After CDS comments on jets, Congress ramps up attack on BJP

Indian Express

4 days ago

General Anil Chauhan, India's chief of defence staff, said Saturday that India switched tactics after suffering losses in the air on the first day of conflict with Pakistan earlier this month and established a decisive advantage before the neighbours announced a ceasefire three days later.
Chauhan said in an interview that India suffered initial losses in the air, but declined to give details.
'What was important is, why did these losses occur, and what we'll do after that,' he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore, referring to the Pakistani claim of downing jets.
'So we rectified tactics and then went back on the 7th, 8th and 10th in large numbers to hit air bases deep inside Pakistan, penetrated all their air defences with impunity, carried out precision strikes.'
After this, the Congress Saturday alleged that PM Narendra Modi-led government has 'misled the nation' and said that the 'fog of war is now lifting'.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that some 'very important questions' needed to be asked and demanded a 'comprehensive review of our defence preparedness by an independent expert committee, on the lines of the Kargil Review Committee'.
Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said that these questions can be asked only if a special session of the Parliament is immediately convened.
'Our IAF pilots were risking their lives fighting the enemy. We have suffered some losses, but our pilots were safe… We salute their resolute courage and bravery. However, a comprehensive strategic review is the need of the hour,' he said.
'The Congress party demands a comprehensive review of our defence preparedness by an independent expert committee, on the lines of the Kargil Review Committee,' he said.
Referring to US President Donald Trump's repeated claim about brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Kharge said, 'This is a direct affront to the Shimla Agreement.'
'Instead of clarifying Trump's repeated assertions, and the affidavit filed by US Secretary of Commerce in the United States Court of International Trade, 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 (May) 10th, after Mr Trump's tweet,' Kharge said on X.
'Is India and Pakistan now again hyphenated? What are the conditions of the ceasefire agreement?' said Kharge and added that '140 crore patriotic Indians deserve to know this'.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also said, 'It is an extraordinary and telling commentary on Emergency@11 that the PM will not chair all-party meetings and will not take Parliament into confidence but the nation gets to know of the first phase of Operation Sindoor through the CDS's interview in Singapore.'
It is an extraordinary and telling commentary on Undeclared Emergency@11 that the PM will not chair all-party meetings and will not take Parliament into confidence but the nation gets to know of the first phase of Operation Sindoor through the CDS's interview in Singapore.…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 31, 2025
'Couldn't Opposition leaders have been taken into confidence by the PM earlier?' he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will arrive in Kolkata on Saturday night for a two-day visit to West Bengal.
Shah is scheduled to attend a series of official and party programmes on Sunday.
According to the official itinerary, the Home minister will begin his day with the inauguration of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Rajarhat, on the outskirts of Kolkata. Later in the day, Shah will address BJP leaders and functionaries at a party convention at the Netaji Indoor Stadium. This visit becomes crucial in the context of the 2026 Assembly polls in Bengal.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Mamata Banerjee-led administration of fostering violence, corruption and lawlessness, and said people were yearning to get rid of the 'nirmam sarkar' (ruthless government).
'Look at what happened in Murshidabad and Malda, clear examples of the government's cruelty. In the name of appeasement, lawlessness was allowed to flourish. Just imagine the horror: members of the ruling party mark out homes and set them on fire, while the police stand by and do nothing,' Modi said at a public meeting in North Bengal's Alipurduar after laying the foundation of a piped gas project.
This was the PM's first visit to the state since violent clashes took place in parts of Murshidabad district, including Samserganj, Suti and Dhulian, in April following protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act. Three people were killed, and several others were injured and displaced in the violence.
— With PTI inputs