Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jun 27: The Centre on Saturday dismissed the Opposition's criticism of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's statement on Operation Sindoor as "factually incorrect" and a deliberate attempt to distort his remarks made in Parliament by quoting them out of context.
The Ministry of Defence issued a clarification after social media posts and statements by Opposition leaders questioned Singh's remarks made during a parliamentary debate on July 28, 2025. The Ministry said the comments were being selectively presented to create a misleading narrative regarding casualties during the military operation.
The controversy resurfaced after the names of six armed forces personnel who lost their lives during Operation Sindoor were recently inscribed on the National War Memorial in New Delhi. The memorialisation marked the first official public disclosure of the identities of the soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice during the operation.
Seizing on the development, the Congress accused the government of failing to acknowledge the soldiers' sacrifice during the parliamentary discussion on Operation Sindoor.
Congress leader Pawan Khera alleged that Rajnath Singh either did not know about the deaths while addressing Parliament or was aware of them but chose not to disclose the information.
He said both possibilities raised serious concerns and described the issue as an affront to the armed forces, arguing that the sacrifice of the soldiers deserved full recognition.
Congress MP Manish Tewari also questioned the Defence Minister's earlier remarks, asking whether he had been unaware of the facts while addressing Parliament. He pointed out that Singh had stated during the debate that no Indian soldier had suffered harm during Operation Sindoor, while the names of six personnel killed in the operation were officially revealed more than a year later.
Rejecting the allegations, the Defence Ministry said the Opposition had deliberately extracted only a small portion of the Defence Minister's speech while ignoring the context in which the remarks were made.
According to the Ministry, Rajnath Singh's statement was specifically aimed at countering false reports circulating at the time that claimed India had lost fighter pilots during the operation.
"The Defence Minister's remarks were a direct response to misinformation that was being widely circulated with the intention of undermining the success of the operation and lowering public morale," the Ministry said.
It further stated that the narrative being promoted by some political leaders and social media users was entirely misleading and failed to reflect the complete parliamentary address.
The Ministry maintained that Singh's speech presented a comprehensive account of Operation Sindoor, highlighting the armed forces' precision, professionalism and successful strikes on multiple targets deep inside Pakistan while responding to false claims that had emerged during the operation.