'Misled nation': Congress slams govt over Indian defence attache's reported 'lost jets' remarks

New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday cited the reported comments of India's defence attache to Indonesia that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor and accused the government of having "misled" the country.

The party also asked why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi "refusing" to preside over an all-party meeting to take the Opposition into confidence and why has the demand for a special session of Parliament been rejected.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X which quoted Captain (Indian Navy) Shiv Kumar, speaking at a seminar in Indonesia recently, that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025 during its targeting of terror-linked sites in Pakistan.

Kumar's remarks in the media report could not be independently verified and there was no immediate reaction from the government or the defence establishment on it.

"First the Chief of Defence Staff makes important revelations in Singapore. Then a senior defence official follows up from Indonesia," Ramesh said in his post on X.

"But why is the PM refusing to preside over an all-party meeting and take the Opposition into confidence? Why has the demand for a special session of Parliament been rejected?" he said.

Citing the same media report, Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said the Modi government has "misled the nation from the start - failing to disclose the aircraft losses during Operation Sindoor".

"There were oblique references to losses in air combat on 6/7 May, during a briefing by the DG Air Ops (Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti) when he said - 'we are in a combat situation and losses are a part of combat'," he said on X.

"Then, it was left to Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan to make the first official admission of our attrition in the air while speaking to Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore," Khera said.

"And now, in another shocking revelation by Capt. Shiv Kumar, it has emerged that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025 during its targeting of Pakistan's terror-linked sites 'only because of the constraint given by the political leadership'," the Congress leader said.

"This is a direct indictment of the Modi Government, particularly Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. No wonder they are ducking our demand for a Special Session of Parliament like the plague," he alleged.

They know they've compromised national security, and they're terrified of what the Congress party will expose before the people of India, Khera claimed.

The Congress had last month asked the government to be truthful about the country's losses during the conflict with Pakistan after CDS Gen Chauhan had remarked that India rectified tactics and hit deep inside enemy territory after aircraft "loss".

Gen Chauhan, however, dismissed as "absolutely incorrect" Islamabad's claim of downing six Indian jets.

Latching onto the comment by the CDS, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had accused the government of misleading the nation on the India-Pakistan conflict and demanded holding a special session of Parliament immediately.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan using long-range weapons in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.