Never in recent memory have India’s armed forces—men and women who guard our borders at the risk of their lives—been so deeply hurt by political recklessness. At a time when our soldiers and airmen have just scored a decisive victory in a four-day conflict with Pakistan, the Opposition has chosen not to celebrate them, but to slander them. Their baseless allegations—that India lost fighter jets—are drawn straight from the propaganda manuals of Pakistan’s military and the reckless words of none other than US President Donald Trump.
The shock for most Indians, beyond the forces themselves, is that the Opposition placed its trust in enemy propaganda rather than in its own military leadership. This, despite repeated clarifications from the top brass. The Army Chief had already declared that there were no casualties, no loss of assets. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval challenged the rumour-mongers to produce even a shred of evidence—an invitation they could not answer.
Now, Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh has removed the last fig leaf from the Opposition’s narrative. In a press conference, he confirmed that India shot down five Pakistani fighter jets, including one of its most advanced carriers. Not a single Pakistani airstrike crossed into Indian territory. Our anti-air missile systems, notably the S-400, neutralised enemy aircraft almost as soon as they took off.
Operation Sindhoor, he revealed, was executed with a free hand from the government—no political micromanagement, no hesitation. As a result, Indian forces destroyed their targets with surgical precision in just 22 minutes. For the doubters, the Air Chief presented video evidence—something earlier missions like Balakot or Uri had failed to provide after major operations.
If this is not a direct rebuttal to the Opposition’s lies, what is? Yet these falsehoods have already polluted the records of Parliament, stalling the ongoing winter session, wasting taxpayers’ money, and tarnishing India’s image in the middle of a war-like situation.
The Air Chief’s words were particularly telling: “Unlike earlier strikes, where we could not produce video proof, this time we made sure to record everything so those doubting Thomases could see it for themselves.” That single line lays bare the political motives behind the Opposition’s demands for “proof.”
And yet, Rahul Gandhi and his Congress Party continue to parrot the language of Pakistan’s military establishment and Trump’s offhand remarks. The question is simple: Will they finally stop peddling lies when every serving force chief has said success came only because they were given a free hand?
Contrast this with the Congress Party’s record in power. Time and again, they shackled the military in the name of political control, often snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
- 1962: Jawaharlal Nehru’s blunders and naivety handed China swathes of Indian territory without a fight worth the name.
- 1971: Indira Gandhi won the battlefield, but squandered the diplomatic table, returning over 90,000 Pakistani POWs without securing Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
- 2008: Dr. Manmohan Singh’s government failed to act militarily after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, despite overwhelming evidence of Pakistani involvement. Worse, it allowed terrorists to slip in via the sea route without any significant naval interception.
These are not partisan charges—they are documented history. And this history shows that when Congress governs, the forces are treated as pawns to be restrained, not professionals to be trusted.
Today’s government has done the opposite—trusting the armed forces’ judgment and standing firmly behind them. The results speak for themselves: enemy losses, Indian strength, and zero casualties on our side.
Given this reality, the Congress and its allies have two choices:
- Tender an unconditional apology to the nation and the armed forces for their baseless allegations at a time of national security crisis.
- Persist in their slander and face political annihilation, starting with the Bihar elections later this year.
India’s soldiers, sailors, and airmen do not fight for one party or another—they fight for the Republic. To undermine them for political gain is to betray the very country that Opposition leaders claim to serve. The nation will not forget who stood with the forces in their hour of triumph—and who sided, in word and spirit, with the enemy.
