Congress insists immediate Parliament session after CDS' remarks

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the PM or the defence minister should have informed the Opposition leaders in the all-party meeting what Gen Chauhan has stated in Singapore.

New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday demanded the immediate convening of a special session of Parliament to discuss the military and foreign policy strategy in the wake of revelations made by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan.

The Congress also demanded that the government take all parties and the nation into confidence and discuss India's defence preparedness and strategy after Operation Sindoor.

Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said the prime minister or the defence minister should have informed the Opposition leaders in the all-party meeting what Gen Chauhan has stated in Singapore.

"The Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan has made some important statements on Operation Sindoor in, of all places, Singapore. It would have been better if the prime minister or the raksha mantri had briefed opposition leaders first in an all-party meeting."

"Gen Chauhan's statements strengthen the case for the immediate convening of the Parliament to discuss larger strategic foreign policy and economic issues in the post Operation Sindoor era," Ramesh told PTI.

On Saturday, Gen Chauhan in Singapore said that India rectified tactics and hit deep inside Pakistani territory after suffering losses of aircraft in the recent military clashes with Pakistan. He also dismissed as "absolutely incorrect" Islamabad's claim of downing six Indian jets.

Gen Chauhan, in an interview with Bloomberg TV, said India flew all its jets and carried out high-precision strikes to hit back at Pakistan after ascertaining the reasons for the initial losses.

Ramesh said it is a matter of concern that such statements are coming from the CDS from Singapore, of all places.

"Why couldn't the prime minister have briefed opposition leaders?" he asked while referring to the statements of Gen Chauhan.

"We have been demanding all-party meetings and a special session of parliament precisely for this purpose," he asserted.

Ramesh also reiterated his demand for a special review committee on the lines of one set up after the Kargil war on India's defence preparedness.

He said three days after the Kargil war ended, the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had set up a Kargil Review Committee headed by the father of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the report was tabled and discussed in Parliament later.

Ramesh asked whether such a committee was being set up now, especially in the wake of the Chief of Defence Staff's statements about the "losses." In his interview, the CDS declined to specify the losses in terms of numbers but pointed out the fact that the Indian military struck deep inside Pakistani territory, which New Delhi said, forced Islamabad to plead to stop the hostilities.

The comments by the top military officer are the Indian military's first clear acknowledgement of losses in the four-day army clashes with the neighbouring country.

Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "These issues should be discussed by calling a Special Session, taking everyone in confidence..."

"As America announced a ceasefire, the leaders went abroad to discuss Operation Sindoor. Who will answer the questions? The answers should not come from the armed forces, but the government," he noted.

Khera said the armed forces are strong and they did what was required, but asked under what pressure the 'ceasefire' was done.

"Where are the terrorists of the Pahalgam attack? What were the conditions for the ceasefire? What CDS said was shocking. Now there should be clarity. They should call the Special Session and answer the questions," Khera asked, as he posed several questions to the government.

Congress Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari, also said that the public deserves a cohesive answer on the latest armed conflict.

"The entire country is asking, the leaders are speaking differently, on the other hand, the CDS spoke otherwise abroad, accepting that our jet was downed. The government should clarify.

"That is why we are demanding a Special Session of Parliament for talks, and an all-party meeting can be called. The PM, on the other hand, has been bent on politicising the valour shown by the armed forces in four days," he alleged.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had on Saturday accused the government of misleading the nation on the India-Pakistan conflict.

Kharge also said his party demands a comprehensive review of India's defence preparedness by an independent expert committee.