Modi govt should come clean on military losses suffered during Op Sindoor: Congress amid CDS Chouhan's remark
On July 29, 1999, the Vajpayee Govt set up the Kargil Review Committee under the chairmanship of India's strategic affairs guru K. Subrahmanyam - whose son is now our External Affairs Minister. This was just three days after the Kargil War had ended.
This Committee submitted its… pic.twitter.com/RzekP29q7j
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New Indian Express
3 hours ago
- New Indian Express
UPA government conducted nine surgical strikes but never politicised them: Congress
NEW DELHI: Amid the controversy surrounding party MP Shashi Tharoor's comments hailing the Modi government's 'surgical strike', the Congress on Monday said that the political leadership has always given the armed forces the freedom to neutralise terror camps or terrorists, adding that these powers should not be exploited for political gains. Speaking to this paper, Congress MP Randeep Surjewala underscored that during Congress's tenure, at least nine such surgical strikes have been documented. However, Congress believes that it is sacrilegious to use armed forces as an instrument of political benefit to a ruling party or otherwise. Tharoor stoked a row at a recent diaspora event in Panama. Hailing the 'Operation Sindoor', he said it marked a shift in India's military posture. 'For the first time, India crossed the LoC to strike a terror base after the 2016 Uri attack. Even during the Kargil War, we did not cross the LoC,' he said. While Tharoor's comments invited sharp responses from his party colleagues, Surjewala said the party came out to set the record straight on multiple 'surgical strikes' over the last two decades. 'It's a matter of setting the record straight, without compromising in any manner, the operational freedom and across the border operations of our forces,' he said. Listing the surgical strikes conducted by the Congress governments, Surjewala said conducting strategic 'surgical strikes' with precision and effective penetration at different times in the last two decades has been characteristic of the grit and determination of the armed forces. 'Surgical strikes and army operations beyond the LAC, mostly in Pakistan, but also across Bangladesh or China are a matter of operational efficacy to demolish terror infrastructure and eliminate threats to our country by our brave armed forces,' he added.
News18
2 days ago
- News18
Tharoor Reacts To Congress Colleague's Criticism Of Him: 'When We Get Back To India...'
Last Updated: Shashi Tharoor has been facing criticism from his party colleagues over his remarks abroad in support of the Centre. He has reacted to a query on swipes by Congress leaders. Days after party leader Jairam Ramesh's 'our MPs are roaming" remark, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Saturday (local time) that he will speak with his colleagues once he returns to India and is currently focusing on conveying India's message regarding terrorism on global stages. Tharoor's remarks came in response to a media query regarding criticism of his remarks abroad by his own party members. The Congress MP is leading one of the seven all-party delegations to several nations, including the US, which is their next stop after their Brazil visit. The government has sent delegations to different parts of the world as part of its global outreach to expose Pakistan and India's stance on terrorism in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. When asked about the swipes by his party leaders upon his arrival in Brazil, Tharoor said, 'I think this is a time now for us to focus on our mission. Undoubtedly, in a thriving democracy, there are bound to be comments and criticisms, but I think at this point we can't afford to dwell on them. When we get back to India, no doubt we'll have our chance to speak to our colleagues, critics, media there. But right now we're focused on the countries we're coming to and getting the message out to the people here." #WATCH — ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2025 Last month, while criticising the government, Jairam Ramesh had said, 'Our MPs are roaming and terrorists (involved in the Pahalgam terror attack) are also roaming." While the Congress had earlier supported the government's action after the Pahalgam terror attack, it later shifted its tone — asking the government to explain why a ceasefire was agreed to and what role the US played in it. Tharoor's support for the government and the decision to make him head of an Indian delegation upset some Congress leaders. Senior party member Jairam Ramesh even said Tharoor's views did not reflect the Congress party's official position. Despite this, the government went ahead and picked him for the delegation, even though the Congress didn't include his name in its own list of suggestions. Tharoor's remarks in Panama created another discomfort among Congress, after which the party dubbed him 'superspokesperson of the BJP". 'What has changed in recent years is that the terrorists have also realised they will have a price to pay. On that, let there be no doubt. When, for the first time, India breached the Line of Control between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base, a launchpad – the Uri strike in September 2015. That was already something we had not done before," Tharoor had said in Panama. 'Even during the Kargil War, we had not crossed the Line of Control; in Uri, we did, and then came the attack in Pulwama in January 2019. This time, we crossed not only the Line of Control but also the international border, and we struck the terrorist headquarters in Balakot. This time, we have gone beyond both of those. We have not only gone beyond the Line of Control and the international border. We have struck at the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by hitting terror bases, training centres, terror headquarters in nine places," he had noted. First Published: June 01, 2025, 15:08 IST
India Today
2 days ago
- India Today
Why did defence chief speak from Singapore? Congress rebuke with Vajpayee lesson
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan's remarks on Operation Sindoor in Singapore, where he acknowledged India's military losses, merit serious study and warrant a broader political discussion, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday. He stressed that the Defence Minister should have informed political parties about the losses before a military official revealed them Chauhan, who was in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue, admitted in an interview with Bloomberg for the first time that an unspecified number of Indian fighter jets were downed during the recent hostilities with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Ramesh reiterated the party's demand for a comprehensive review of India's defence preparedness by an independent expert committee, similar to the Kargil Review Committee. 'Why did we have to wait for statements from Singapore? We are supposed to be the mother of democracy. The issues that Gen Chauhan raised are critical and they impinge not just on military strategy but also on foreign policy, economic policy, and diplomatic strategy,' the Congress general secretary told news agency ANI. He stressed that the Defence Minister should have conveyed these details during the all-party meetings held after Operation Sindoor.'It would have been better if what Gen Chauhan has now said was instead conveyed by the Defence Minister during the two all-party meetings he chaired. The information shared by Gen Chauhan should have been presented to opposition leaders, and a special session of Parliament should have been convened,' Ramesh Congress leader pointed out that just three days after the Kargil war ended in July 1999, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had set up a Kargil Review Committee, noting that the father of current External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was one of the four members who prepared the added that though there are military matters which only the military can address, there are also political issues that must be taken up, such as the growing nexus between China and Pakistan.'All we asked was for the Prime Minister to chair an all-party meeting and convene a session of Parliament. The revelations made by Gen Chauhan yesterday in Singapore make our demand even more relevant now. The outcome of such a session should be a resolution that reiterates the February 22, 1994 resolution on POK, while also incorporating new elements,' Ramesh said. During India's Operation Sindoor, which was launched after the Pahalgam attacks, Pakistan had claimed that it had downed six Indian fighter jets, a claim India had previously Chauhan categorically rejected Pakistan's assertion that it had shot down six Indian jets, including four Rafales, calling it 'absolutely incorrect'."What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down... Why they were down, what mistakes were made - that are important. Numbers are not important," General Chauhan another interview with news agency Reuters, the top military official specified that the losses occurred in the initial stage of India's Watch IN THIS STORY#Operation Sindoor#India-Pakistan#Pakistan#Indian National Congress
