BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: Accusing Congress of bringing down the morale of the Indian armed forces, the BJP on Friday said senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, have often asked about the number of aircrafts India lost in Operation Sindoor instead of querying about the losses incurred on the enemy side.
BJP MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra said the Leader of the Opposition did not ask how many Pakistani airbases were destroyed or how many terrorists were killed in anti-terror strikes launched by Indian armed forces earlier this month.
“Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, and Revanth Reddy are asking how many Rafales were shot down. ‘Yeh jo Pakistan ke Babbar hain, woh Hindustan ke Gabbar hain’. Rahul Gandhi did not ask how many Pakistani airbases were destroyed, or how many terrorists were killed; rather, he only asked how many Indian planes were shot down," Patra told reporters.
The BJP MP from Puri suggested that Congress should stop its “Jai Hind Yatra" and hold a “joint press conference with Pakistan."
“Today, there are two factions in Congress – one which supports Pakistan and the other which wants to raise voice for the country but is unable to do so because of you. Your ‘Jai Hind Yatra’ looks like ‘Pakistan’s Hind Yatra’ and you should stop this yatra and hold a joint press conference with Pakistan," he said.
He noted that even Congress MPs are part of the seven all-party delegations currently on a visit to world capitals to put across India's resolve against terror following the Pahalgam massacre and retaliatory strikes against Pakistan. These Congress MPs are doing a good job, strongly projecting India's stand but Ramesh in one breath is comparing them to terrorists, he said.
While addressing an event in Telangana, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy raised questions over the multi-million dollar deal with France to procure Rafale jets and asked why “they got destroyed". However, the Congress leader did not provide any evidence to back his claim of Indian jets getting downed by Pakistan.
Earlier Rahul tweeted that “EAM Jaishankar’s silence isn’t just telling — it’s damning. So I’ll ask again: How many Indian aircraft did we lose because Pakistan knew? This wasn’t a lapse. It was a crime. And the nation deserves the truth."
The BJP leader also rejected media reports that the ruling BJP planned to distribute vermilion (sindoor) among women to mark the Narendra Modi government's anniversary.
Patra accused the opposition party of spreading this propaganda to belittle Operation Sindoor. He cited controversial statements of a number of Congress leaders, including some questioning the military conflict with Pakistan and the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty after the Pahalgam attack to accuse the opposition party of deliberately attempting to lower the country's morale.
Criticising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her choice of words in slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who at a rally in the state had hit out at her government, he said Modi is everyone's "sewak". It is beyond any doubt that she was sheltering infiltrators and Rohingyas, he added.