Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was ostensibly outraged to learn that some Indian fighter aircraft might have been downed by Pakistanis on the first night of Operation Sindoor. He was reacting to Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chouhan’s recent admission about India’s aircraft losses during the conflict. Kharge accused the Narendra Modi government of misleading the nation and demanded a special session of Parliament as 140 crore “patriotic Indians” deserved answers to “some very important questions”.
The CDS’ admission was not a slip of tongue. He must have anticipated this question. He chose to be transparent, unlike the Pakistanis who ‘celebrated’ their loss to salve their wounded pride.
Kharge and his party colleagues had better listen to the CDS again: “The good part is that we were able to understand the tactical mistake we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days and flew all our jets, again targeting at long range.”
Yes, there was a “tactical mistake” and there were some losses. That is, however, par for the course in military conflicts. What matters is how quickly our Air Force rectified it striking back in just 48 hours as the CDS said. It rained fury on Pakistani airbases, rendering them dysfunctional and forcing the country’s military to seek a ceasefire.
So, what’s Mallikarjun Kharge outraged about? About the government not breaking the news and thereby misleading the country? Well, the government couldn’t have shared operational details in the middle of a conflict. Some of our aircraft might have gone down but nothing happened to our fighter pilots. For a $4 trillion economy, the loss of military hardware worth a few million dollars is hardly worth the bother. Talk to people on the streets. The Indian Air Force pulverising Pakistan into submission is the only thing that matters to them.
If that’s the ‘important question’ the Congress intends to raise, it’s unlikely to bother the Modi government much. Going by Opposition leaders’ statements so far, the second question they’d likely ask during the special session is how Donald Trump ‘mediated’ or ‘forced’ the ceasefire. Their idea is to try and puncture PM Modi’s projected global stature. They would like people to believe that Modi’s effervescence in hugging global leaders is a mere optic for domestic audiences, and leaders like Trump really don’t care.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram almost outlined the Congress’ attack in his column in The Indian Express on Sunday: “Despite the dosti, America deported Indian ‘illegal’ immigrants in handcuffs and leg chains. Not a word of protest from the prime minister…steep tariffs were imposed on imports from India; not a word. The US voted in favour of IMF’s loan to Pakistan; not a word. Foreign students, including Indians, were barred from Harvard University; not a word. Indian students face the threat of revocation of their visas; not a word. Student visa interviews have been suspended; not a word. The dosti lies in a shambles.”
Basically, Congress leaders would have the people believe that Vishwaguru is a hollow rhetoric. Well, some of these barbs may sting PM Modi a little. But people in India also have a fair idea about Trump by now. In his book Rage, Bob Woodward, quoting Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, writes that one of the best ways to understand Trump is to study the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any path will get you there.”
Also read: Op Sindoor setting the tone for Bihar polls—yet enemies & frenemies have Nitish Kumar on edge
Military wins matter
Modi is not the only leader in the world who has been stumped by Trump. So, even though the Congress has a bit of fun at PM Modi’s expense by reminding him of his “friendship” with the American president, that’s not something Modi would lose sleep over. A trade deal here and a good night of sleep there, Trump may soon be hugging Modi again. The Opposition would likely rake up the issue of ‘international isolation’—citing the International Monetary Fund’s bailout package for Pakistan and no global condemnation of the country for the Pahalgam terror attack. But these are issues that are usually debated in urban elite circles. The BJP knows that for common Indians, the visuals of Indian missiles hitting terror infrastructure and military installations in Pakistan are good enough to make Modi’s popularity rating soar again. For them, he has vanquished Pakistan yet again. And that’s all that matters.
So, it’s not the Opposition that Modi would be bothered about as he goes on roadshows and addresses rallies in different corners of India to tell people how bold and decisive their PM is. He wouldn’t let himself or his government be subjected to any questioning about Operation Sindoor in any special session of Parliament. But he would enjoy seeing the principal Opposition party deal with Shashi Tharoor and Salman Khurshid after their return from abroad. How will the Congress deal with them for endorsing the government line on Operation Sindoor and Article 370 respectively?
Also read: Congress says Modi govt ‘misled’ nation on Op Sindoor losses, demands Kargil-like review
Modi’s worries
What must, however, worry the Prime Minister more is his own party, the Bharatiya Janata Party. His colleagues have just spoiled the victory celebrations. First, Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah made an odious remark against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, calling her Pahalgam terrorists’ sister. Madhya Pradesh deputy chief minister Jagdish Devda then hurled another insult at the armed forces, saying that the country’s army is bowing at the PM’s feet—unke charnon mein natmastak hai.
BJP’s Rajya Sabha member from Haryana, Ram Chander Jangra, said that the tourists died in Pahalgam “with folded hands” because they had not taken training under the PM’s Agnipath scheme. He even took a swipe at their grieving wives, saying that they “did not show bravery”.
BJP MLA from Udhampur East, RS Pathania, called the Air Force personnel at the Udhampur airbase “nalayak (incompetent)” and said that they were “sleeping” during Operation Sindoor.
What was more pathetic was that the national BJP and its top leaders didn’t think it necessary to take action against any of these leaders – or even condemn their insulting remarks against the armed forces and victims of the Pahalgam attack. How could the world’s largest party, led by as powerful a leader as Narendra Modi, not punish these motormouths? These leaders are obviously political assets that the BJP doesn’t want to offend or lose. Or maybe BJP doesn’t bother because it is convinced that people will vote for Narendra Modi anyway.
The problem is that, when people hear Modi talk about how India vanquished Pakistan and avenged Pahalgam, the voices of Shah, Devda, Jangra and Pathania play alongside in their heads. And because the BJP has refused to take any action against these leaders, similar voices will emerge.
PM Modi has got his mojo back after Operation Sindoor. We know it when Modi starts talking about Modi. He has every reason to feel proud about his bold and decisive leadership. The only regret he must have, perhaps, is why he allowed his party colleagues to malign and denigrate our armed forces with impunity. Was politics worth it? This question will haunt him forever.
DK Singh is Political Editor at ThePrint. He tweets @dksingh73. Views are personal.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)
Modi and its govt has been inconsequential for the last 12 years. They are much ado about nothing. The way India has grown in the last decade is indifferent of which govt ruled it. Any other govt would’ve faired the same unremarkable growth.
Now it’s a fact that Modi hasn’t been able to do anything decisive about Indo-pak issue. Blaming Nehru, ad infinitum is a way of admitting their helplessness about this issue. India has only lost territory in Modi’s rule. That’s a fact. He couldn’t add or taken back a single inch for India, so much of the chest thumping.
The reality is that this time Pak has prevailed. That’s why BJP insiders are’t convinced and are uttering nonsense.
And don’t u compare millions with 4 trillion. Immediate gratification is not a serious business. Those destroyed rafales are like a slap on our face. It’s like a poor man saying to himself what difference does it make if he plunged himself the whole night into a pool of alcohol.