'Directly told Pak there's no political will to fight': Rahul Gandhi's accusation

Rahul Gandhi was referring to Rajnath Singh's remarks from the day before, in which he said Pak DGMO was called up after Operation Sindoor strikes.

Published on: Jul 29, 2025, 20:45:11 IST

By HT News Desk

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that by informing Pakistan of hitting only non-military targets during Operation Sindoor, India conveyed its "political will" to not fight.

Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi speaks during the discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha. (Sansad TV/ANI Grab)

Rahul Gandhi was referring to defence minister Rajnath Singh's remarks from the day before. "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.

“You directly told Pakistan your political will that you do not have the political will to fight, that you do not want to fight…,” Rahul Gandhi added.

The Congress leader asserted that 100 per cent political will and full freedom of operation are needed in order to completely utilise the armed forces.

Reading out what he said was a quote by India's defence attache in Indonesia, Rahul Gandhi said, “I may not agree with him that India lost so many aircraft but I do agree that we did lose some aircraft. That happened only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment and their air defence.”

Rahul Gandhi's remarks came a day after Rajnath Singh told the Parliament that the Indian Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) called up his Pakistan counterpart around 1.35 am on May 7, the day Operation Sindoor launched, and informed him of the strikes.

“Using a hotline, he informed the Pakistan DGMO about the rationale and methodology of Operation Sindoor. He told him the fact that these attacks were not escalatory in nature, and that we did not intend to take these forward,” Rajnath Singh told the House on Monday.

Rahul Gandhi questioned the move today, saying "You directly told Pakistan your political will, that you do not want to fight," he alleged. "You attacked Pakistan and simultaneously told them we are not going to hit your army or air defence systems. That is not freedom of manoeuvre; that is surrender," the LoP added.

Shortly after Rahul Gandhi's accusations against the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the House, repeating Rajnath Singh's remarks and explaining India's rationale behind informing Pakistan after Op Sindoor strikes.

"Just in a few minutes after our Operation, our military told the Pakistan military that we had this aim and we have achieved it, to know what they were thinking. We achieved our target 100%," PM Modi said.

The remarks came amid a debate in Parliament over Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam attack.

(With PTI inputs)

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