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Rafale, Trump, ‘new normal’ with Pakistan: Who said what in Operation Sindoor debate in Lok Sabha
The debate will be held in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday; PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah are expected to speak too
The special debate on Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha saw major political flashpoints between the Narendra Modi government and the Congress-led opposition. The debate will be held in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, while PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah are expected to speak too.
Here's a recap of major arguments in the Lok Sabha:
Rajnath's detailed account, Rahul Gandhi's ‘kyun?’ interjection
Defence minister Rajnath Singh detailed how the operation — India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack — was carried out. He had a ready response to questions about India's loss of military assets, particularly fighter jets: “No important assests were damaged."
He added, “If they (opposition) must ask a question, it should be whether India destroyed terrorist bases — and the answer is yes. If you want to know whether Operation Sindoor was successful — again, the answer is yes.”
Rajnath Singh stressed that India stopped the strikes upon a request from Pakistan.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi interjected with a “why did we stop?” at this, but Rajnath said he'd already answered that. He was seemingly referring to the assertion that India did not want to escalate but only make its intentions clear.
'How many, if any, Rafales fell?' Pointed questions by Cong's Gaurav Gogoi
“The country has the courage to handle the truth. Don't worry; tell us,” Gaurav Gogoi, Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, said in his speech immediately after Rajnath Singh's address.
“We want to know from Rajnath Singh ji today, how many of our fighter jets were downed. We have to tell this not just to the public but also to our jawans, as they are being lied to as well,” he said.
“There are just 35 Rafale jets in India; you thought those many were enough. And if some of them have been downed, I think it is a big loss,” he said.
Gogoi also said India should not have stopped the strikes but “finished the job” and got back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Did Trump broker ceasefire? As Jaishankar spoke, Amit Shah snapped at Oppn
External affairs minister S Jaishankar, in his speech later, said that while the challenge of cross-border terrorism continues, “Operation Sindoor marks a new phase; there is now a new normal”.
He said there was no mention of trade in any phone call between PM Modi and US President Donald Trump during the time.
His assertions were an apparent response to Trump's repeated claims that he brokered the ceasefire after telling Indian and Pakistani governments that the US won't trade with them if they didn't stop fighting. Trump repeated his claim late on Monday, even after the opposition had counted up to the 26th time.
Also read | Jaishankar slams Opposition: ‘Which one of you…’
“At no stage in any conversation with the US was there any linkage with trade and what was going on," Jaishankar said.
When the opposition MPs disrupted his speech, home minister Amit Shah burst out: “They don't have faith in an Indian foreign minister, but they have faith in some other country.” Saying “this is the reason” why the Congress is on the opposition benches, Shah claimed, “It will remain sitting there for the next 20 years.”
Barbs and some conciliatory notes
BJP MP Anurag Thakur took shots at Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of being sympathetic to Pakistan, while Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee mocked PM Modi by saying “his ‘56-inch chest’ reduces to 36 inches in front of the American president Trump”.
NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, however, while being in Opposition, lauded PM Modi for appointing leaders from across parties to lead delegations abroad to convey India’s message of zero tolerance against terrorism.
"When it comes to national duty, first comes the country, then the state, then party and then family. PM Modi has shown a big heart by appointing Opposition leaders to lead the all-party delegation," she said.
The debate moves to the Upper House of Parliament on Tuesday.
