Operation Sindoor debate | PM Modi has blood on his hands of Pahalgam victims, says Rahul Gandhi

The Leader of Opposition flayed the Modi government over the way it handled the Pahalgam terror attack.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tore into the Narendra Modi government for the way it handled the Pahalgam terror attack and the way it conducted itself after Operation Sindoor saying instead of saving lives, the Centre was keen on extracting political mileage out of it.

Participating in the special discussion in the Lok Sabha on "India's strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam," the Leader of Opposition reiterated the fact that the entire opposition bloc stood with the government during the crucial juncture.

"Goal of govt's action was to protect PM Modi's image because he had blood on his hands of people killed in Pahalgam. External Affiars Minister S Jaishankar didn't tell us that not one country condemned Pakistan post-Pahalgam, it means world is equating us with Pakistan," he said.

Rahul also jumped to the defence of Indian Air Force (IAF), saying the loss of Indian aircraft during the operation was due to political constraints, not military shortcomings.

"IAF made no mistake, political leadership did by saying you cannot attack military infrastructure of Pak. The aircraft were lost because the political leadership had tied the hands of the armed forces by deciding not to attack military and air defence infrastructure in Pakistan," he said.

"Pahalgam attack was a brutal attack organised and orchestrated clearly by Pakistani state. Even before Operation Sindoor began, Opposition committed itself that we will stand like a rock with government," Rahul said amidst thumping of desks by the entire opposition bloc.

The Opposition Leader also flayed defence minister Rajnath Singh in his speech and sharply criticised the government's military response to the attack.

"Rajnath Singh said Operation Sindoor began at 1:05 AM and that by 1:35 AM, India had already called Pakistan to inform them that we had hit non-military targets and that we did not want escalation," Gandhi said.

"These are not my words. These are the words of India's defence minister," he said.

He also took a dig at PM Modi vis-a-vis Donald Trump.

"We can't have a PM who doesn't have the courage to call Trump a liar, who can't use the Army as it is supposed to be," he said .

Recalling the interaction that he had with families of Pahalgam attack victims, Rahul said that every Indian was pained by the attacks.

Earlier, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi also attacked the Modi government over the "lapses" that led to the Pahalgam terror attack and said Home Minister Amit Shah talked about Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and even her mother's tears in Lok Sabha but did not answer "why the war" against Pakistan was halted.

She also took a swipe at PM Modi, saying leadership is not just about taking credit but also taking responsibility.

(With inputs from Agencies)