New Delhi, 19 May

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday launched a fresh attack on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, saying his silence on the number of aircraft India "lost" after Pakistan was "informed" about the military action under Operation Sindoor is "damning".

The BJP hit back, accusing Gandhi of speaking the "language of Pakistan" and asking whether the Congress party was truly serious about supporting the nation.

Gandhi had earlier also targeted Jaishankar on the issue, suggesting that the Indian side informed Pakistan ahead of the military strikes on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had described Gandhi's claims that Jaishankar acknowledged India having alerted Pakistan before the launch of Operation Sindoor on 7 May as "utter misrepresentation".

"EAM Jaishankar's silence isn't just telling, it's damning. So I'll ask again: How many Indian aircraft did we lose because Pakistan knew?" he asked in a post on X.

"This wasn't a lapse. It was a crime. And the nation deserves the truth," Gandhi also said.

Congress leader Pawan Khera also attacked Jaishankar saying the country is asking questions on why Pakistan was forewarned about Operation Sindoor, alleging that "Sindoor ke saath sauda hota raha aur Pradhan mantri chup rahe" (the deal with Sindoor kept happening and the prime minister remained silent).

"If we have forewarned Pakistan, then most of the terrorists must have escaped. Why did we allow that? The PM and the minister must open their mouths and come out clean," he said, adding that they wanted to know what has the country lost due to this forewarning.

"What Jaishankar has done comes in the category of a sin and the silence of PM and Jaishankar is also a sin," he said.

Union minister Pralhad Joshi attacked Gandhi saying he misquoted the MEA.

"Rahul Gandhi seems to have learned nothing from his past mistakes. He continues to disrespect the Nation's Armed Forces by questioning how many jets were lost — despite clear statements from the IAF and MEA confirming there were no asset losses.

BJP IT Department head Amit Malviya said in a post on X, "Rahul Gandhi's daftness is not merely incidental. It is sinister. Rahul Gandhi must desist from distorting facts. India knows who he truly speaks for."

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari alleged that the Congress leader's comments mirrored Pakistan's propaganda.

Khera said Rahul Gandhi has asked some questions on the statement of the external affairs minister.

He said Jaishankar himself told the media that they had informed Pakistan before launching the attack.

"Now what does this informing mean? Does the Foreign Minister have so much trust in Pakistan that the terrorists will sit quietly at his command? What is the relationship of the Foreign Minister and why did he inform Pakistan before the attack?

"In fact, this is not diplomacy but spying. Everyone heard what the foreign minister said -- yet it is being covered up. Was it because of this information that Masood Azhar survived and Hafiz Saeed escaped alive? Doesn't the country have the right to know...," he said.