<p>New Delhi: Top Congress leader <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/rahul-gandhi">Rahul Gandhi</a> on Monday doubled down his attack on the Modi government over External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's remarks about informing Pakistan about 'Operation Sindoor' at the "start", calling it a "crime" and insisting that the country deserves to know how many aircraft did the Air Force lost due to it.</p><p>Adding more fire even as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rejected it as “utter misrepresentation of facts” last Saturday, the party sought to equate Jaishankar's statement with former Prime Minister Morarji Desai's alleged talks with Pakistan President Gen Zia-ul-Haq on India's RAW finding out the neighbour's nuclear plan, which is claimed to have exposed Indian agents.</p> .Jaishankar rules out any role for third party in India's border dispute with China.<p>Two days after raising the issue, Rahul once again shared Jaishankar's video statement on 'X' and said, “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.”</p> .<p>In the video in which he was responding to the media, Jaishankar said, “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.” </p><p>As a controversy erupted, the external publicity division of the MEA said last Saturday, “EAM had stated that we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly 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.”</p> .<p>However, the explanation did not cut much ice with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul and the Congress. Addressing a press conference soon after Rahul's latest post, Congress Media and Publicity Department Chairperson Pawan Khera claimed that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jaishankar maintain silence on the United States and China, as they are “scared” of both these countries.</p><p>When referred to MEA’s explanation, Khera shot back, “when one says ‘at the beginning’, it means only one thing.” </p> .<p>He alleged that Jaishankar’s remarks are “no less sin” than Desai’s purported statements to Zia-ul-Haq about RAW finding out about Pakistan’s nuclear programme.</p><p>Khera said, “after the statement of Jaishankar, we are being ridiculed in Pakistan and the whole world. That is why Rahul Gandhi is repeatedly saying that you should answer what damage the country suffered from this forewarning you gave to Pakistan. It is very important for us to know how many planes of the country fell, what damage the country suffered and how many terrorists escaped.”</p>
<p>New Delhi: Top Congress leader <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/rahul-gandhi">Rahul Gandhi</a> on Monday doubled down his attack on the Modi government over External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's remarks about informing Pakistan about 'Operation Sindoor' at the "start", calling it a "crime" and insisting that the country deserves to know how many aircraft did the Air Force lost due to it.</p><p>Adding more fire even as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rejected it as “utter misrepresentation of facts” last Saturday, the party sought to equate Jaishankar's statement with former Prime Minister Morarji Desai's alleged talks with Pakistan President Gen Zia-ul-Haq on India's RAW finding out the neighbour's nuclear plan, which is claimed to have exposed Indian agents.</p> .Jaishankar rules out any role for third party in India's border dispute with China.<p>Two days after raising the issue, Rahul once again shared Jaishankar's video statement on 'X' and said, “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.”</p> .<p>In the video in which he was responding to the media, Jaishankar said, “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.” </p><p>As a controversy erupted, the external publicity division of the MEA said last Saturday, “EAM had stated that we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly 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.”</p> .<p>However, the explanation did not cut much ice with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul and the Congress. Addressing a press conference soon after Rahul's latest post, Congress Media and Publicity Department Chairperson Pawan Khera claimed that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jaishankar maintain silence on the United States and China, as they are “scared” of both these countries.</p><p>When referred to MEA’s explanation, Khera shot back, “when one says ‘at the beginning’, it means only one thing.” </p> .<p>He alleged that Jaishankar’s remarks are “no less sin” than Desai’s purported statements to Zia-ul-Haq about RAW finding out about Pakistan’s nuclear programme.</p><p>Khera said, “after the statement of Jaishankar, we are being ridiculed in Pakistan and the whole world. That is why Rahul Gandhi is repeatedly saying that you should answer what damage the country suffered from this forewarning you gave to Pakistan. It is very important for us to know how many planes of the country fell, what damage the country suffered and how many terrorists escaped.”</p>
