The controversy over Rajnath Singh’s statement on Operation Sindoor took a fresh twist on Tuesday, with Congress MP KC Venugopal writing to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, seeking privilege proceedings against the defence minister for “misleading” Parliament by saying that “no Indian soldier died in the line of duty during the conflict with Pakistan” in May last year. The row has erupted days after the names of six armed force personnel were inscribed on a wall at the National War Memorial in Delhi in tribute to the fallen soldiers. It marked the first time the government publicly disclosed their identities.
The Ministry of Defence later clarified that “certain posts circulating on social media” had sought to “misrepresent” Singh’s address. It stated that the posts had “selectively quoted an isolated portion of the speech to falsely imply that the defence minister claimed that no Indian soldier lost his life during Operation Sindoor.”
In his privilege notice to Birla under Rules of 223 Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha against Singh, Venugopal stated, “On July 28, 2025, during the discussion on the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor, the Minister of Defence inter alia stated that no soldier was killed in the Operation Sindoor.”
Reproducing the statement of Singh, Venugopal said, “Singh had told the Lok Sabha on 28 July last year, ‘If you want to ask, have any of our courageous soldiers been killed in this Operation (Sindoor), the answer is no’.”
The Alappuzha MP said in his letter before reproducing the minister’s statement in Hindi also said that a statement issued recently named five Indian Army soldiers and one Indian Air Force personnel who were killed in action.
The position “clearly indicates that the Minister of Defence, while stating on the floor of the House that there had been no casualties during Operation Sindoor, was clearly misleading or incorrect,” he said.
“It is well established that misleading the House or withholding information from the House by a Minister on the floor of the House constitutes a breach of privilege and contempt of the House,” the Congress leader said.
Venugopal also shared the letter on X, and said it was a “grave insult” to the families of these six martyrs and the entire armed forces that the people of India were not told of their bravery and ultimate sacrifice.
“They died in service of our nation, while defending it against our enemies, and the so-called nationalist Government simply lied about their martyrdom,” he added. The Congress had earlier demanded Singh’s resignation as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s apology over the issue. The Congress had claimed that the government concealed the “supreme sacrifice” of six soldiers and denied them the honour. Indian forces launched Operation Sindoor on the intervening night of May 6 and 7, 2025, targeting terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, most of them civilians. The ensuing cross-border conflict ended on May 10 after Pakistan requested a ceasefire, which India accepted.
