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New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strongly criticized Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for his recent claim that informing Pakistan at the start of Operation Sindoor was a “crime.” The ruling party accused him of spreading misinformation and fake news. Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also clarified that the timing of Pakistan being informed about the operation was being deliberately misrepresented.
The controversy erupted on Saturday when Rahul Gandhi took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and posted a video clip featuring External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. In the video, the minister explained that at the start of Operation Sindoor, which was conducted on the night of May 6-7, the Indian government had sent a message to Pakistan stating that only terrorist bases were being targeted, not military installations.
Jaishankar can be heard in the video saying, “At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan, saying we are striking at terrorist infrastructure and we are not striking at the military. So the military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice.”
Taking this statement as a basis, Rahul Gandhi accused the government of wrongdoing. He called the decision to inform Pakistan at the start of the operation a “crime,” highlighting that the External Affairs Minister himself had publicly admitted the act. Gandhi demanded to know who authorized this sharing of sensitive information with Pakistan.
Further, the Congress MP questioned the Indian Air Force’s losses during the operation, alluding to reports of Indian planes being shot down while striking terror bases. He asked, “How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?”
BJP’s Response and Fact-Check
The BJP swiftly responded to Gandhi’s allegations. BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari shared a fact check issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) and accused Rahul Gandhi of disseminating fake news.
The PIB’s post, dated Thursday, clarified that the External Affairs Minister’s statement was being misquoted. The bureau emphasized that the social media post wrongly implied that India informed Pakistan before the start of Operation Sindoor, which was not true. It stated, “EAM is being misquoted and he has not made this statement. Remain vigilant and avoid falling for deceptive information.”
Ministry of External Affairs Statement
On Saturday evening, the Ministry of External Affairs released an official statement to address the controversy. The ministry pointed out that the facts were being deliberately distorted.
“The External Affairs Minister had stated that we had warned Pakistan at the start, which clearly refers to the early phase after Operation Sindoor’s commencement. This is being falsely represented as being before the commencement. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out,” the ministry said.
The ministry further cited a briefing by Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, who had explained India’s communication attempts with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
General Ghai had stated, “Even though we did attempt to reach out and communicate our compulsion to strike at the heart of terror to my counterpart, in the immediate wake of Operation Sindoor, the request was brusquely turned down, with an intimation that a severe response was inevitable and in the offing. We were, of course, prepared.”
Background: Operation Sindoor
Operation Sindoor was a carefully coordinated strike by India targeting terror bases located in Pakistan. It was launched as a retaliatory response to the deadly terror attack on April 22 in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians.
The operation hit at least nine terror hideouts, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters in Muridke and the Jaish-e-Mohammed base in Bahawalpur.
Pakistan reacted aggressively, attempting to launch drone and missile strikes on Indian military and civilian installations over three consecutive days. However, India’s advanced air defense systems thwarted these attacks.
In retaliation, India neutralized some of Pakistan’s air defense assets, including those in Lahore, and conducted targeted strikes on key military bases such as the Nur Khan airbase (also called Chaklala airbase).
Following these hostilities, Pakistan requested a ceasefire on the previous Saturday, which India accepted, though it has made clear that any terror attack originating from Pakistan would be met with decisive retaliation.
Conclusion
The dispute over the timeline and communication during Operation Sindoor highlights the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan. The BJP’s sharp rebuttal of Rahul Gandhi’s claims and the MEA’s clarifications demonstrate the sensitivity around information related to national security operations.
As the political debate unfolds, this episode underscores the critical need for accurate information dissemination regarding India’s defense measures and the challenges posed by misinformation in politically charged environments.
