New Delhi, July 20 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for demanding a clarification from the government over US President Donald Trump's ambiguous statement about five jets being shot down during Operation Sindoor.
Dubbing him as the "star campaigner" for Pakistan, the BJP accused Rahul Gandhi of undermining the bravery of the Indian armed forces and amplifying the narrative pushed by Pakistani media.
The criticism followed Gandhi's reaction to Trump's remarks made during a private dinner on Friday. US President stated that five jets were shot down amid Operation Sindoor, India's military retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack in April, however, he did not clarify whether the aircraft in question belonged to India or Pakistan.
Rahul Gandhi took to X on Saturday to share the video clip of Trump's statement and wrote in Hindi, "Modi ji, what is the truth behind the five jets? The country has a right to know."
The BJP condemned the Congress leader's post, stating that while opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi ends up questioning the integrity of the country and its armed forces. The party accused him of consistently demoralising the armed forces with such remarks.
Speaking to IANS, BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal said, "This is not the first time. It has been the history of Congress and opposition parties to question the bravery and valour of our armed forces. They should remember that this is PM Modi's India, and he knows how to make decisions and execute them. Hence, if someone thinks that India will be dominated, it is wrong."
BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh also hit out at Gandhi, saying, "Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress and the INDIA bloc have become star campaigners for the Pakistani army and Pakistani media propaganda. The only aim of the Opposition is to spread misinformation. This is unfortunate."
Chugh added that by opposing the government's diplomatic and military moves, the Opposition was beginning to sound like "the tukde-tukde gang" and had started opposing the country itself.
JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha echoed the sentiment and said that Gandhi's statements repeatedly hurt the morale of the armed forces.
"They should be asked whether they are talking about India's interests or against India. Whenever they make such statements, it demoralises the country and the army. What happened internationally? His party leaders also went in that delegation and presented their side, and the Indian Army held a press conference to explain everything. How did the Indian Army respond?" Jha asked.
He went on to say, "While opposing PM Modi, he goes on to oppose the nation. He doesn't know when to speak on what. Even the nation has started to dismiss his statements. That is why Congress party repeatedly gets defeated in every election."
Speaking to IANS, BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal also criticised Gandhi, saying, "He did the same after Pulwama and the surgical strikes. He doesn't care for India. When the Galwan Valley clashes happened, he was busy dining with the Chinese ambassador. He also attended the wedding party of the son of George Soros, whose only goal is to destroy the democracy of India. One cannot expect patriotism from Rahul Gandhi."
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