Govt misled nation, must hold special Parl session: Kharge after CDS' Operation Sindoor remark
New Delhi, May 31 (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused the government of misleading the nation on the India-Pakistan conflict and demanded holding a special session of Parliament immediately, following Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan's acknowledgement of aircraft loss in the hostilities.
Gen Chouhan, however, dismissed as "absolutely incorrect" Islamabad's claim of downing six Indian jets.
In a post on X, Kharge said his party demands a comprehensive review of India's defence preparedness by an independent expert committee, on the lines of the survey done by the Kargil Review Committee.
"In the wake of the remarks made by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in Singapore in an interview, there are some very important questions that need to be asked. These can only be done if a special session of the Parliament is immediately convened," he said.
"The Modi Government has misled the nation. The fog of war is now clearing."
The Congress chief said the IAF pilots risked their lives fighting the enemy, and "suffered some losses but our pilots were safe".
He was referring to Gen Chauhan's interview in which the CDS said that "we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days and flew all our jets again, targeting at long range".
The Congress president said his party salutes their resolute courage and bravery. However, a comprehensive strategic review is the need of the hour, he asserted.
"The Congress party demands a Comprehensive Review of our Defence Preparedness by an independent expert committee, on the lines of the Kargil Review Committee," he said.
Citing Donald Trump's statements, Kharge said the US president has again repeated his claim about "brokering a ceasefire".
"This is a direct affront to the Shimla Agreement. Instead of clarifying Mr Trump's repeated assertions, and the affidavit filed by the US Secretary of Commerce in the United States Court of International Trade, PM Modi is on an election blitz, taking personal credit for the valour of our Armed Forces, hiding behind their bravery and dodging the contours of the agreed ceasefire, which the Foreign Secretary announced on May 10, after Trump's tweet," Kharge noted in his post.
"Is India and Pakistan now again hyphenated? What are the conditions of the ceasefire agreement? The 140 crore patriotic Indians deserve to know this," the Congress chief asserted.
In a separate post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also asked, "It is an extraordinary and telling commentary on Emergency@11 that the PM will not chair all-party meetings and will not take Parliament into confidence but the nation gets to know of the first phase of Operation Sindoor through the CDS's interview in Singapore."
"Couldn't opposition leaders have been taken into confidence by the PM earlier?" he asked.
Gen Chauhan, in the interview, asserted it is more important to find out why the aircraft were lost so that the Indian military could improve tactics and hit back again.
"I think what is important is not the jet being downed but why they were being downed," he said.
The CDS was asked whether India lost combat jets during the four-day military clashes with Pakistan earlier this month.
"The good part is that we were able to understand the tactical mistakes which we made; remedied, rectified and then implemented it again after two days. We flew all our jets again targeting at long range," he said.
"Absolutely incorrect," Gen Chauhan said when asked about Pakistan's claim of shooting down six Indian jets during Operation Sindoor.
Previously, Indian Air Force's Director General of Air Operations, Air Marshall AK Bharti, acknowledged that "losses are a part of combat" and said all IAF pilots returned home safely.
Air Marshall Bharti made the remarks at a media briefing on May 11 when asked about Indi'a aircraft losses during Operation Sindoor.
Gen Chauhan is in Singapore to participate in the Shangri-La Dialogue.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
