Responding to Gogoi’s accusations, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the Opposition must focus on questions of national significance.
Published Jul 28, 2025 | 5:43 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 28, 2025 | 5:43 PM
Gogoi’s remarks came after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the House, describing Operation Sindoor as “historic” and paying tribute to the armed forces.
Synopsis: Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, on Monday demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah take full moral responsibility for the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack, which resulted in the deaths of 26 tourists. He further criticised the Centre for its inability to apprehend the five attackers even after 100 days, and termed its handling of the attack’s aftermath “cowardly” and “weak.”
Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, has demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre take moral responsibility for the security lapses that led to the 22 April Pahalgam attack and the government’s handling of the aftermath.
“Responsibility needs to be taken. Home Minister, you have to take moral responsibility. You cannot hide behind the Lieutenant Governor. This Union Government cannot hide behind the Lieutenant Governor, because the Home Minister himself was there a few weeks prior,” said Gogoi, speaking in the Lok Sabha on Monday, 28 July.
“He had personally reviewed the security. Didn’t you have the information? Mr Speaker, this Government is so weak, so cowardly, that today, if they blamed anybody, they blamed the tour operators.”
Gogoi also questioned the government’s failure to identify those behind the attack that killed 26 tourists.
“It has been 100 days since the Pahalgam attack took place, but this Government has not been able to catch those five terrorists,” he said.
“Today, you have drones, Pegasus, satellites, CRPF, BSF, CISF, and the Defence Minister went there a few days ago, but still you are not able to catch them. It took almost one hour for an ambulance to reach Baisaran, where the attack took place. The army came on foot.”
Gogoi further questioned the decision to declare a ceasefire shortly after retaliatory action by Pakistan.
“The entire country, and the Opposition, were supporting PM Modi. Suddenly, on 10th May, we got to know that there had been a ceasefire. Why? We wanted to know from PM Modi that if Pakistan was ready to kneel down, then why did you stop, and to whom did you surrender? The US President has said this 26 times that he forced India and Pakistan to announce a ceasefire.”
He also raised concerns about conflicting reports regarding aircraft losses during the operation.
“We want to know from Rajnath Singh ji today how many of our fighter jets were downed. We have to tell this not just to the public but also to our jawans, as they are being lied to as well. Rajnath Singh ji gave a lot of information, but as Defence Minister, he never mentioned how terrorists from Pakistan reached Pahalgam and killed 26 people. It is our duty to ask questions in the interest of the nation.”
Operation Sindoor was a series of precision strikes conducted by the Indian Armed Forces on 7 May, targeting nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The operation followed the Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April, which killed 26 tourists.
The strikes reportedly hit camps linked to proscribed groups including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul Mujahideen. Targets were located in Bahawalpur, Muridke, Sialkot, and Muzaffarabad.
The Ministry of Defence had earlier described the strikes as “focused, measured, and non-escalatory,” with efforts made to avoid Pakistani military and civilian installations in order to limit collateral damage.
Gogoi’s remarks came after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the House, describing Operation Sindoor as “historic” and paying tribute to the armed forces.
The second week of the ongoing Monsoon Session was marked by repeated disruptions, with Opposition MPs demanding discussion on Operation Sindoor and the ongoing “Special Intensive Revision” – a contentious electoral roll review process being conducted by the Election Commission in Bihar ahead of the state polls.
Earlier in the day, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the proceedings three times before 2 pm amid continuous protests. Opposition members entered the Well of the House, raising slogans and demanding a separate discussion on the issue.
Speaker Birla expressed his displeasure at the repeated disruptions and maintained that the matter could only be taken up in the Business Advisory Committee meeting.
The House reconvened for the fourth time that day to allow the debate on Operation Sindoor to proceed.
“The Parliament is ready to discuss Operation Sindoor. First of all, I would like to extend my gratitude on behalf of the Parliament towards brave jawans who have sacrificed for the country whenever required,” Singh said in his opening remarks.
“Before carrying out Operation Sindoor, our armed forces conducted an in-depth study of every aspect. We had several options. But we chose the one that would inflict maximum damage on the terrorists and their hideouts, while causing no harm to Pakistani civilians. Soon after the Pahalgam attack, our armed forces took action and hit with precision the nine terrorist infra sites in which more than 100 terrorists, their trainers and handlers were targeted.”
Responding to Gogoi’s accusations, Singh said the Opposition must focus on questions of national significance.
“When the aim is to go higher, we should not pay attention to small issues because focusing on issues that remain comparatively small can divert attention from national security.”
He continued, “It is the job of the ruling side to work while keeping in mind the interests of the people, and the Opposition’s job is to question the government on issues concerning the public… There have been instances where the Opposition has inquired about the number of our planes that fell. I don’t think this question by the Opposition correctly represents our national sentiment. They never asked us a single time how many planes of the enemy were destroyed by our armed forces.”
The Defence then returned to the Centre’s original rhetoric of the operation being a resounding success that achieved all the objectives originally set out.
“If they want to pose questions, their question should be whether we destroyed the terrorist camps? The answer is yes. If you have a question to ask, ask this: Were any of our brave soldiers harmed in this operation? The answer is no, none of our soldiers were harmed,” he said.
“If you have a question to ask, ask whether terrorists who wiped the Sindoor off our sisters and daughters have been dealt with by our forces in Operation Sindoor, eliminating their masters? The answer is yes.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
