After the Operation
Sindoor carried out by the Indian Armed Forces in response to the attack on the
innocent Hindu tourists in Pahalgam, many developments took place rapidly at
the international level. This operation instilled the confidence that India can
demonstrate the power to change the entire landscape of international politics.
The attack in Pahalgam was perpetrated by the forces that nurture terrorism in
Pakistan.
Therefore, it is very
important to give a befitting response at the military level as well as at the
diplomatic level to teach a lesson to the rulers of Pakistan. The operation
against Pakistan was a phenomenal success. Due to this, Pakistan had to kneel
down for a ceasefire. At the same time, there was a request to reconsider the
decision to suspend the Indus Water Treaty. The American media as well as
defence experts have also given detailed information about the losses suffered
by Pakistan in the operation carried out by the Indian Armed Forces. The Indian
Air Force inflicted significant damage to six Pakistani air bases by
penetrating Pakistan’s air defense system. As usual, Pakistan made false claims
to cover its losses. These false claims could not deceive the people of
Pakistan either.
In the press
conferences, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Armed Forces gave
detailed evidence of how Pakistan suffered losses in the operations carried out
under Operation Sindoor. Pakistan could not counter the irrefutable evidence of
the Indian Armed Forces. Against this background, Tiranga Yatras were
enthusiastically organised in the country to salute the achievements of the
Indian Armed Forces. While on one hand the unprecedented performance of the
Indian Armed Forces was being praised, on the other hand, the main opposition
party, Congress, tried to bring petty politics into this issue.
Rahul Gandhi, who is
leading the opposition in the Lok Sabha, made a statement that befits the
ruling party in Pakistan. Rahul Gandhi publicly asked the question, “How many
Indian aircrafts were shot down in Operation Sindoor?”, raising doubts about
the performance of the Indian Armed Forces. Satellite images of how terrorist
bases in Pakistan were significantly damaged were broadcast in the Indian Armed
Forces’ press conferences.
The Pakistan Army had
claimed to have shot down an Indian fighter jet. And when a journalist asked
for evidence of this, the Pakistani Prime Minister showed how bankrupt his
intellect has become by replying, “There is a lot of evidence available on
social media that we shot down an Indian plane.” Rather than knowing how many
terrorist camps were destroyed in Pakistan, how many Pakistani air bases were
damaged, why Rahul Gandhi chose to show interest in asking about the losses
suffered by the Indian Armed Forces is a question only Rahul Gandhi can answer
himself.
Instead of
celebrating the performance of the Armed Forces and by asking questions like
how much the Indian Armed Forces suffered, Rahul Gandhi demonstrated just how
low the mentality of opposition in politics can go. Such questions can be asked
to the Armed Forces Chiefs in person, but Rahul Gandhi has the tendency to
repeatedly show that he lacks such maturity and vision in politics- What can
one do about that? In 1971, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi decided to
send a delegation of leaders from various parties in India to inform other
countries about why India supported the Bangladesh Mukti Bahini during the
Bangladesh liberation war. Mrs. Indira Gandhi had entrusted the leadership of
this delegation to the then Jana Sangh group leader in the Lok Sabha, Atal
Bihari Vajpayee.
During the 1971 war,
all the opposition parties, including the Jana Sangh, had given unquestioning
support to the central government. At that time, the US President Richard Nixon
had made statements supporting Pakistan. The Jana Sangh and the independent
parties decided to put aside their anti-Congress stance and stand united with
the Indira Gandhi government. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in his speech in the Lok
Sabha, strongly condemned the statement of the then US President Nixon and
assured the entire country that the Jana Sangh was firmly standing behind the
Indira Gandhi government.
The opposition
parties are standing behind the government to confront the menace of terrorism
in the country. To make this known to the world, Rahul Gandhi, who is the
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was expected to keep politics aside and
make statements supporting the government and the army. Rahul Gandhi could not
fulfill even this minimum expectation.
Seeing the supreme
leader of his party making such statements, mouthpieces like Vijay Wadettiwar
felt encouraged. Wadettiwar openly said that the photographic evidence
presented by the Indian Armed Forces while giving information about Operation
Sindoor was fake. Wadettiwar was heavily criticized on social media for this
statement. Still, Wadettiwar did not apologize to the Armed Forces.
The national and
state leadership of the Congress did not ask Wadettiwar for an explanation for
such a statement. The national leadership of the Congress must have expected
such a statement from its regional leadership. The central government decided
to dispatch delegations to various countries to share India’s stance against
terrorism and the rationale behind Operation Sindoor. The leadership of this
delegation was entrusted to senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. Even with
that, the Congress showed what kind of attitude it has. The Congress leadership
is not even aware that they are directly taking an anti-national stance by
opposing the Modi government.
(Article
Pre-Published in Times of India Online – 26 May,
2025)
Keshav
Upadhye, Chief Spokesperson
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