'India Lost Aircraft Due To Lack Of Political Will': Highlights From Rahul Gandhi's Speech On Operation Sindoor

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, began his Tuesday (29 July) speech by praising India's armed forces, but at the same time, alleging that the Indian government had restrained its armed forces.

Emphasising 'political will'. Gandhi said, quoting Rajnath Singh, that Operation Sindoor began at 1:05 am and at 1:35 am, India called Pakistan, claiming that 'we do not want any escalation.'

Gandhi comprehended this statement as 'surrender' and 'lack of political will'. He also claimed that India lost some of its aircraft due to constraints on not attacking the military infrastructure of Pakistan.

"The point is, aircraft were lost. At the start, India showed that it did not have the political will, which constrained our pilots," Gandhi said. He then quoted CDS Anil Chauhan to claim that his 'hands were tied behind his back.'

"Why was Pakistan told at 1:35 am that we do not want escalation? Because the goal of this exercise was to protect the Prime Minister (PM). He used the air force to protect his image," the Rae Bareli MP said.

He continued, "Donald Trump has claimed 29 times that he has mediated a ceasefire. If he has the courage of Indira Gandhi, PM Modi should say that Donald Trump is a liar and he did not impose a ceasefire and that we did not lose any planes."

Gandhi also highlighted Pakistan General Asim Munir's lunch with US President Trump and called out India's claim of 'deterring Pakistan as false'. He quoted Trump as thanking Munir for 'not going into the war and ending it.'

The Rae Bareli MP said that while India carried out its foreign outreach on Operation Sindoor, 'the chief architect of Pahalgam was having lunch with the US President.'

"You have turned the entire idea of deterrence upside down. This government is clueless about what deterrence, what political will and what let the army, air force and navy fight mean," Gandhi said on India's statement that 'any act of terror will be an act of war.

"I am sad to say that you have destroyed Indian foreign policy. China and Pakistan are fused together. Chinese were feeding critical battlefield and satellite information to Pakistan," the LoP added.

He claimed that we are not just facing Pakistan or just China, but Pakistan and China fused militarily. He urged using armed forces for national interests, not for the image of PM Modi.

"We cannot afford a PM who does not have the courage to use the army to its full potential. We cannot afford a PM who does not have the guts to say that Trump is a liar. The nation is above PM's image, PR (public relations) and politics," he concluded.