WEB DESK: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi sparked a political row on Saturday, May 17, by claiming that India had informed Pakistan in advance of Operation Sindoor, calling it a “crime” that compromised national security. However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) firmly rejected the accusation, labeling it a distortion of facts.
Gandhi shared a video clip of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, in which he is heard saying, “At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan saying we are striking at terrorist infrastructure, we are not striking at the military, so the military has an option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice.”
Based on this, Gandhi accused the government of undermining the Indian Air Force’s mission. “Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime,” he said. “EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our Air Force lose as a result?”
In response, the MEA issued a statement clarifying that the message to Pakistan was sent after Operation Sindoor had already begun, not prior to its commencement. The ministry emphasized that Jaishankar’s remarks were being selectively quoted and taken out of context to mislead the public.
“This is being deliberately misrepresented as communication before the operation,” the MEA said. “What the EAM referred to was messaging during the early phase of the operation, not beforehand.”
The MEA further criticized attempts to spread misinformation, calling them irresponsible and damaging to the integrity of national defense narratives.
The Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) fact-checking wing also weighed in, confirming that Jaishankar had been misquoted. “A post on social media falsely suggests that India informed Pakistan before Operation Sindoor commenced. This is incorrect. The minister’s statement is being misrepresented,” PIB stated.
Operation Sindoor, which targeted terrorist infrastructure, remains a sensitive subject, and the controversy has added to the political friction between the ruling government and the Opposition ahead of a crucial parliamentary session.
