Why did defence chief speak from Singapore? Congress rebuke with Vajpayee lesson

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan's remarks on Operation Sindoor in Singapore, where he acknowledged India's military losses, merit serious study and warrant a broader political discussion, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday. He stressed that the Defence Minister should have informed political parties about the losses before a military official revealed them abroad.General Chauhan, who was in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue, admitted in an interview with Bloomberg for the first time that an unspecified number of Indian fighter jets were downed during the recent hostilities with Pakistan.advertisementEchoing Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Ramesh reiterated the party's demand for a comprehensive review of India's defence preparedness by an independent expert committee, similar to the Kargil Review Committee.
'Why did we have to wait for statements from Singapore? We are supposed to be the mother of democracy. The issues that Gen Chauhan raised are critical and they impinge not just on military strategy but also on foreign policy, economic policy, and diplomatic strategy,' the Congress general secretary told news agency ANI. He stressed that the Defence Minister should have conveyed these details during the all-party meetings held after Operation Sindoor.'It would have been better if what Gen Chauhan has now said was instead conveyed by the Defence Minister during the two all-party meetings he chaired. The information shared by Gen Chauhan should have been presented to opposition leaders, and a special session of Parliament should have been convened,' Ramesh said.advertisementThe Congress leader pointed out that just three days after the Kargil war ended in July 1999, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had set up a Kargil Review Committee, noting that the father of current External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was one of the four members who prepared the report.He added that though there are military matters which only the military can address, there are also political issues that must be taken up, such as the growing nexus between China and Pakistan.'All we asked was for the Prime Minister to chair an all-party meeting and convene a session of Parliament. The revelations made by Gen Chauhan yesterday in Singapore make our demand even more relevant now. The outcome of such a session should be a resolution that reiterates the February 22, 1994 resolution on POK, while also incorporating new elements,' Ramesh said. During India's Operation Sindoor, which was launched after the Pahalgam attacks, Pakistan had claimed that it had downed six Indian fighter jets, a claim India had previously downplayed.General Chauhan categorically rejected Pakistan's assertion that it had shot down six Indian jets, including four Rafales, calling it 'absolutely incorrect'."What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down... Why they were down, what mistakes were made - that are important. Numbers are not important," General Chauhan said.In another interview with news agency Reuters, the top military official specified that the losses occurred in the initial stage of India's operation.Must Watch
IN THIS STORY#Operation Sindoor#India-Pakistan#Pakistan#Indian National Congress

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Business Standard

24 minutes ago

• Business Standard

After evacuation from Iran, Indians express relief; 827 brought back so far

The Indian government's Operation Sindhu has successfully evacuated 827 Indian nationals from conflict-hit Iran, with the latest flight landing in New Delhi on Saturday. The evacuees, including students and pilgrims, shared their experiences of the tense situation in Iran and praised the efforts of the Indian embassy and government. The evacuation flight from Mashhad, carried 310 Indian nationals, who were safely brought back to the country under Operation Sindhu. Sharing the images of the evacuation, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote on X, "Another evacuation flight from Mashhad landed in New Delhi at 1630 hrs on 21 June with 310 Indian nationals from Iran. With this, a total of 827 Indians have been evacuated." Nadeem Asgar, an evacuee, told ANI, "I am thankful to my nation for keeping us safe there and bringing us back safely. As soon as the situation went south, we were evacuated by the embassy. I am very thankful to the Indian government." Farzana Abdi echoed similar sentiments, "We are coming back from Iran. There was a lot of fighting and missiles there. The Indian embassy helped us a lot and brought us here. We are very happy to be back in India. India is the best." Riyazul Hasan described the dire situation in Iran, "The situation is not good there. We saw from our hotel window that the missiles were coming, which were being intercepted mid-air. We are relieved to be back here. We came through the embassy. We thank PM Modi." Fatima expressed her gratitude to the Prime Minister, "I am very grateful to PM Modi. Now I feel at peace after coming back to my country. Being back in your homeland is a matter of great joy." Almas Rizvi praised the Indian embassy's support, "We were given accommodation in a good hotel and given lunch, dinner, everything, on time. It feels good to be back in our country. The Indian embassy helped us a lot. The Indian government took good care of us and didn't even let us feel we were living in a war-like situation." Daniya shared her relief, "I am delighted. We were terrified. The situation was very dire in Tehran. I thank the Indian embassy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the bottom of my heart because of which we could reach here safely." Earlier in the day, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said, a centrifuge manufacturing workshop in the central Iranian city has been struck, making it the third nuclear-related facility targeted in Israeli attacks since June 13, Al Jazeera reported. "We know this facility well. There was no nuclear material at this site and therefore the attack on it will have no radiological consequences," Grossi said in a statement posted by the IAEA. On Friday, Grossi said the nuclear watchdog does not have information showing Iran is actively trying to build nuclear weapons. The Israeli military has already said that it's got many targets that it still has to hit, and the campaign has clearly broadened beyond the military, beyond top scientific advisers, and beyond missile launchers. So there's nothing really stopping Israel from carrying on until it's achieved its stated objectives. Well, that is, to stop Iran enriching uranium to produce a nuclear weapon, as per Al Jazeera. The Israeli military has warned Israelis that they should be prepared for a long campaign. According to Al Jazeera, from Iran, overnight we had about 40 drones fired, according to the Israeli military, one of those getting through the air defences. In all, there have been about 450 missiles fired since the start of this fighting. According to the Israelis, 450 ballistic missiles and 400-plus drones.

Time of India

38 minutes ago

• Time of India

India assures Sri Lanka of evacuating its nationals from Iran

Live Events India on Saturday assured Sri Lanka that it will evacuate its nationals currently stranded in Iran amid the Islamic nation's conflict with Lanka extended gratitude to India adding that this "act of solidarity exemplifies the strong and enduring partnership between India and Sri Lanka.""Sri Lanka extends its sincere gratitude to the Government of India for the timely assistance to evacuate Sri Lankan nationals from Iran alongside Indian citizens," Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka posted on X on the Indian mission in Iran had said that it would help in evacuating nationals of Nepal and Sri Lanka following requests from their respective governments."On request of the Governments of Nepal and Sri Lanka, the Indian Embassy's evacuation efforts in Iran will also cover Citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka," the Indian Embassy Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry advised its citizens in Iran to contact the Indian Embassy in Tehran if they wish to leave the country."The government of Sri Lanka has made arrangements with the government of India to assist Sri Lankans who wish to leave Iran by accommodating them in the flights," the ministry said in an official to the Foreign Ministry, there are less than 100 Sri Lankan nationals in Iran , while some 20,000 are employed in Israel.

Hindustan Times

42 minutes ago

• Hindustan Times

India assures Sri Lanka of evacuating its nationals from Iran amid Middle East tensions

Jun 22, 2025 12:35 AM IST India on Saturday assured Sri Lanka that it will evacuate its nationals currently stranded in Iran amid the Islamic nation's conflict with Israel. The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry advised its citizens in Iran to contact the Indian Embassy in Tehran if they wish to leave the country. (file)(AFP) Sri Lanka extended gratitude to India adding that this "act of solidarity exemplifies the strong and enduring partnership between India and Sri Lanka." "Sri Lanka extends its sincere gratitude to the Government of India for the timely assistance to evacuate Sri Lankan nationals from Iran alongside Indian citizens," Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka posted on X on Saturday. Earlier, the Indian mission in Iran had said that it would help in evacuating nationals of Nepal and Sri Lanka following requests from their respective governments. 'On request of the Governments of Nepal and Sri Lanka, the Indian Embassy's evacuation efforts in Iran will also cover Citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka,' the Indian Embassy said. The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry advised its citizens in Iran to contact the Indian Embassy in Tehran if they wish to leave the country. 'The government of Sri Lanka has made arrangements with the government of India to assist Sri Lankans who wish to leave Iran by accommodating them in the flights,' the ministry said in an official release. According to the Foreign Ministry, there are less than 100 Sri Lankan nationals in Iran, while some 20,000 are employed in Israel.