New Delhi: At an all-party meeting Thursday, the government said Operation Sindoor—under which Indian armed forces targeted terror infrastructure at nine sites across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on 7 May—has killed “at least 100” terrorists and is ongoing, ThePrint has learnt.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting which was attended by leaders from across the political spectrum, including Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, who questioned the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the meeting.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that Singh informed the leaders that Operation Sindoor was an “ongoing operation and that is why he cannot share its technical details”. Rijiju added that armed forces officers were not present in the meeting for the same reason and also because they were busy with the operations.
Two leaders who attended the meeting told ThePrint there was no formal presentation at the meeting on Operation Sindoor, but the defence minister shared some aspects of it with party leaders.
Speaking to ThePrint, one Opposition leader said Singh told the meeting that “100 terrorists” had been killed in the operation. Another Opposition leader quoted the defence minister as having said that information available with India suggests that “100 people including hard-core terrorists have been killed in the operation”.
Sources said the Pakistani government’s claim that it also hit Indian fighter jets during the operation also came up at the meeting. “It did come up but the leaders, including NDA members such as Shiv Sena (Shinde) and NCP (Ajit Pawar) framed it as fake news emanating from Pakistan. Naturally, the government could duck the issue altogether,” an Opposition MP told ThePrint.
Kharge, flanked by Gandhi, told reporters that the Congress extended its full support to the measures being taken by the government. However, he also questioned the PM’s absence from the meeting.
“Like the previous all-party meeting, the PM did not attend the meeting this time either. It’s fine. Perhaps he believes he is above the Parliament. We will raise questions when the time is right. But we don’t want to criticise anyone at this point,” Kharge said.
Rahul added, “We gave full support and as Kharge ji said, there are things that should not be discussed publicly.”
At the meeting, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, too, complimented the armed forces and the government. He also suggested running a global campaign against The Resistance Front (TRF), a wing of the LeT, which had claimed responsibility for the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. The TRF later retracted the claim.
“I also suggested that the government request the US to designate it (TRF) as a terrorist organisation. We should also make efforts to grey-list Pakistan in the Financial Action Task Force,” Owaisi said.
“Many international media outlets have reported that a Rafale (fighter jet) has been downed in Bathinda. The Indian Air Force should deny it, as it shouldn’t damage the morale of our armed forces,” the MP said.
A demand for a special parliament session on this issue was also raised. According to a source, CPM Rajya Sabha floor leader John Brittas said in the meeting that efforts should be made to de-escalate the situation. “Brittas also quoted former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee to state that to begin a war is in one’s hand but not how it ends,” a source added.
The government received praise from the Opposition as well as allies like the JD(U) in the meeting.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh praised the government for fielding Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh at Wednesday’s media briefing on the operation along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
Many leaders raised concerns over Pakistan’s ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and loss of civilian lives in Jammu’s Poonch sector. “Questions were raised on why the villages close to the LoC were not evacuated in time,” said an MP.
Shrikant Shinde of the Shiv Sena (Shinde) told ThePrint that his party extended full support to the government while raising concerns over Pakistani and Chinese propaganda against India.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, “The Operation Sindoor will not be over until you catch and bring the six terrorists to India. You should make them stand in front of the India Gate and let the women whose Sindoor (vermilion) they wiped off identify them… otherwise many fake encounters take place. Kill them after identifying them and dump their bodies on the Pakistani side of the border. That will complete the revenge. This is what we said.”
Minister Rijiju said every leader who attended the meeting expressed their views with “responsibility and maturity, recognising the major challenge the country is currently facing.”
He quoted Rajnath Singh as having said “we don’t do politics to form a government but to build the country. India is a mature democracy and this is reflected in the fact that there has been no political bickering and parties are speaking in one voice.”
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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