CDS General Anil Chauhan's statements raise many questions: Congress' Khera raises questions about defence preparedness

India Gazette

2 days ago

New Delhi [India], June 1 (ANI): Congress leader Pawan Khera on Sunday raised several questions, including the sudden nature of the ceasefire announcement by the US President and the implications of Donald Trump's claims.
He also pointed to the statements of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Anil Chauhan, raising further questions about defence preparedness.
'Questions are arising every day, the biggest of them is Donald Trump's claims. We also want to know the conditions of the ceasefire, why was it so sudden and announced by the US President?... The CDS' statements again raise many questions. The government needs to come forward... The country needs to know our defence preparedness...,' Khera told ANI.
US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) once again claimed credit for brokering a cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, asserting that his administration's trade negotiations potentially averted a nuclear war between the two nations.
During an interaction with reporters, Trump expressed pride in achieving peace through trade rather than military conflict, reigniting debates over the US role in the recent India-Pakistan ceasefire following the escalation of tension after the Pahalgam Terror Attack and India's subsequent reply through Operation Sindoor.
Moreover, speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the CDS admitted that the Armed Forces had suffered losses in the initial stages of the operation but then struck with impunity at Pakistan's bases.
'So what I can say is, on May 7 and the initial stages, there were losses, but the numbers and that's not important. What was important is why did these losses occur, and what will we do after that? So we rectified the tactics and then went back on seventh, eighth and 10th, and 10th in large numbers, to hit their bases deep inside Pakistan, penetrated all their defences with impunity, with scattered opposition strikes,' Gen Chauhan was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Earlier, on May 11, Director General Air Operations Air Marshal Bharti, when commenting on Aircraft losses, had said, 'I can't comment about loss of aircraft as we are in a combat scenario and losses are part of combat.'
Khera stressed the need for the government to come forward and provide clarity on these issues, ensuring that the country is informed about its defence preparedness and the circumstances surrounding the ceasefire.
He also emphasized the party's long-standing demand for a special session of Parliament to discuss critical issues. He cited the precedent of calling a special session during the 1962 war, highlighting the need for transparency and accountability in governance.
'Congress party has been demanding for a long time that a special session of the Parliament be called. It was called during the war of 1962, but it's astonishing that now, even after the war has ended, there has been no Parliament session,' Khera told ANI.
Earlier in the day, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh expressed disappointment that the Defence Minister did not share crucial information with opposition leaders in two all-party meetings, following recent comments made by CDS Gen Anil Chauhan in Singapore.
He further questioned why the government waited for Gen Chauhan to make these revelations rather than share the information with opposition leaders and convene a special session of Parliament.
'It would have been better that what he has spoken, the Defence Minister should have said in the two all-party meetings he had chaired... Whatever Gen Chauhan has said, this information should have been shared with the opposition leaders, and a special session of the Parliament should have been convened. We had to wait for General Chauhan to make these revelations from Singapore...' said Ramesh. (ANI)