Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday refused to apologise for his remark that India had been “completely defeated” on the first day of Operation Sindoor in May, reported ANI.
A row had erupted on Tuesday after Chavan claimed that “Indian aircraft were shot down” in the “half-hour aerial engagement that took place on May 7”, reported India Today.
“If any aircraft had taken off from Gwalior, Bathinda or Sirsa, there was a high probability of being shot down by Pakistan, which is why the Air Force was fully grounded,” claimed the former chief minister of Maharashtra.
It was unclear what information Chavan’s claim was based on.
He also said that there was “not even a one-km movement” of the Army during the four-day military conflict.
“Whatever happened over two or three days was only an aerial war and missile warfare,” he was quoted as saying by India Today. “In the future too, wars will be fought in the same way.”
Chavan asked if there was a need to maintain an Army of 12 lakh soldiers “or can we make them do some other work”.
The Bharatiya Janata Party criticised Chavan for the comments, saying that the Congress “hates the Indian armed forces”.
Union minister Giriraj Singh said that “no one has the right to insult the valour of the armed forces”.
“Those who do so can never think of the nation’s interest,” Singh was quoted as saying by ANI. “It has become Congress’ habit to insult the Armed Forces.”
BJP Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said in a social media post that “insulting the Army is Congress’ identity”.
On Wednesday, Chavan said he would not apologise for his statement as the Constitution gives him the right to ask questions.
“Why will I apologise?” he asked. “It is out of the question.”
The four-day conflict
Tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad escalated on May 7 when the Indian military carried out strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The strikes were in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 persons on April 22.
On May 10, the two sides reached an “understanding” to halt firing.
Pakistan has claimed that it shot down Indian fighter jets during air-to-air combat. The claims made by Islamabad have not been independently verified.
India has acknowledged suffering aircraft losses during the initial phase of the conflict, but has not disclosed the number of planes lost.
On October 3, the Indian Air Force chief said that Pakistan’s claims of having shot down Indian aircraft were meant to “save their reputation” domestically.
The Indian Air Force has also said that it downed five Pakistani aircraft of the F-16 and JF-17 classes during the conflict.
In August, Indian Air Force Chief AP Singh had said that one large Pakistani aircraft, which was either an electronic intelligence plane or an airborne early warning system, was also shot down.
This followed the Indian military’s claim on May 12, two days after the ceasefire, that the Pakistan Air Force had lost “a few” aircraft.
While Islamabad has not commented on losing any of its aircraft, it has acknowledged that several of its airbases were struck by India during the hostilities.
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