'Makes all the more shocking...': Congress on IAF chief's revelations on Operation Sindoor; presses PM Modi for answers
NEW DELHI: Congress leaders on Saturday continued to question Prime Minister Narendra Modi, despite the Indian Air Force (IAF) chief's disclosure that it had shot down at least five Pakistani fighter jets and one airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft during Operation Sindoor in May.
'In view of the new revelations made today by Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, it becomes all the more shocking why the PM suddenly stopped Operation Sindoor on the evening of May 10. Where did the pressure come from, and why did he capitulate so very soon?' Congress MP and party communications chief Jairam Ramesh wrote on X.
Lok Sabha deputy leader of the opposition Gaurav Gogoi also pressed for answers, asking what 'concessions' the prime minister may have secured from Pakistan before 'abruptly' ending the operation.
'The question remains: what concessions did Prime Minister Modi extract from the Pakistani leadership before abruptly ending Operation Sindoor on the evening of May 10?' Gogoi posted.
Seizing upon Donald Trump's repeated claim that he brokered the ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, the Congress-led opposition has been accusing the prime minister of 'surrendering' to the US president.
The government has strongly rejected Trump's assertion, saying it was Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations who contacted his Indian counterpart to request a ceasefire—accepted by India as it had achieved all its military objectives.
Launched on the night of May 7 in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor targeted terror infrastructure at nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, triggering cross-border skirmishes in the days that followed.
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