Congress leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has refused to apologize for his controversial statement questioning Indian forces in Operation Sindoor. Chavan claimed that India was defeated on the first day of Operation Sindoor
When asked about the backlash against his statement, Chavan remained defiant and said, “Why will I apologise? That is out of the question. The Constitution gives me the right to ask questions.”
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brij Lal on Wednesday condemned Chavan’s statement on Operation Sindoor and claimed that the Congress was always on Pakistan’s side. He further claimed that the party is consistently humiliating the country.
The BJP MP further alleged that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, consistently insults India during his visits abroad.
“I strongly condemn this statement. Congress party has always been pro-Pakistan. This Congress party has always humiliated the country. Their leader, Rahul Gandhi, whenever he goes abroad, insults India…The whole country is watching and public will teach Congress a lesson,” Lal told ANI.
Chavan’s statement was also criticized by the national spokesman of the saffron party of the Czech Republic, Kesavan. In response to these statements, Kesavan claimed that Chavan’s remarks sounded like those of a third-rate Pakistani speaker.
The spokesperson also demanded action against the Congress leader and called for an apology for Chavan’s remarks.
“Prithviraj Chavan flaunted himself as Pakistan’s third-rate spokesperson, deliberately maligned our armed forces and called for their disbandment on Vijay Diwas… Why didn’t Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi condemn and take action against Prithviraj Chavan?” Kesavan told news agency ANI.
“Do they agree with his absurd statement?… Congress has an anti-army mindset… The Supreme Court reprimanded Rahul Gandhi for his anti-army remarks… Chavan’s statement will not be forgotten or forgiven by the people… He must be booked for this shameful remark and he should apologise,” he added.
Chavan had earlier claimed that India was defeated on the first day of Operation Sindoor and Indian aircraft were shot down during the four-day conflict.
“On the first day (Operation Sindoor), we were completely defeated. In the half-hour air engagement that took place on the 7th, we were completely defeated, whether people accepted it or not. Indian planes were shot down. The air force was completely grounded and not a single plane flew. If any plane took off from Gwalior, Bathinda or Sirsa,” why was the air force that was shot down in full, shot down from the side? Air Force, Pakistan. the leader said
Chavan also questioned the need to maintain a large military force, stating that wars would be fought in the air.
“Recently we saw during Operation Sindoor that there was not a single kilometer of army movement. Whatever happened in two or three days was only air war and missile war. In future wars will be fought in the same way. Do we really need to maintain an army of 12 million soldiers in such a situation or can we make them do some other work?” he said.
Why will I apologize? That’s out of the question. The constitution gives me the right to ask questions.
Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people lost their lives. Pakistan retaliated, leading to a conflict from 7 to 10 May. During the operation, the Indian said he killed over 100 terrorists in just 23 minutes using Rafale jets, SCALP missiles and HAMMER bombs.
