In a sharp political escalation, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of placing "family interests above national interest" in the discourse surrounding India's military action, Operation Sindoor. Poonawalla invoked comments from Congress MP Shashi Tharoor to counter the Opposition's criticism of the operation.
BJP Uses Tharoor's Remarks to Counter Opposition Narrative
Taking to social media platform X, Poonawalla posted a message aimed directly at Rahul Gandhi and other critics like former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. "Once again a fact check for Rahul Gandhi & his ilk from Shashi Tharoor," he wrote, claiming Tharoor's stance held up a mirror to what he called the Opposition's "fake narratives" about Operation Sindoor and theories of surrender.
Poonawalla highlighted that even within the Opposition, voices like Tharoor's had acknowledged that matters of national security should transcend partisan politics. "Foreign policy is not of the BJP or Congress, but of India," the BJP leader asserted. He added a pointed critique, stating, "If someone in politics rejoices at the defeat of a Prime Minister, they are celebrating the defeat of India."
Turning his focus to the Congress leadership, Poonawalla delivered a severe indictment: "Sadly Rahul Gandhi puts parivarik (family) interest above India's interest. In his hatred for BJP — he hates India." This is not the first instance where Poonawalla has referenced Shashi Tharoor to target the Opposition; he previously praised a Tharoor article critical of dynastic politics, calling the MP a "Khatron ke Khiladi" for questioning succession within his own party.
Congress's Prithviraj Chavan's 'Defeat' Remarks Trigger Storm
The BJP's forceful rebuttal comes amidst a heated controversy ignited by senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan. Earlier this month, Chavan claimed that India faced a "complete defeat" on the inaugural day of Operation Sindoor.
Addressing media in Pune, the former Maharashtra CM elaborated, "On the first day (of Operation Sindoor) we were completely defeated. In the half-hour aerial engagement that took place on the 7th, we were fully defeated... Indian aircraft were shot down. The Air Force was completely grounded, and not a single aircraft flew."
Chavan further raised questions about the nature of modern warfare and the size of India's armed forces in light of the operation's events. "Recently, we saw during Operation Sindoor, there was not even a one-kilometre movement of the military... Whatever happened over two or three days was only an aerial war and missile warfare," he stated, questioning the necessity of maintaining a 12-lakh strong army.
The BJP condemned these statements as an insult to the armed forces. Poonawalla had earlier termed them "shocking" and accused the Congress of a consistent pattern of disrespecting the military, summarising it as "Sena ka apman is Congress ki pehchaan." Chavan, however, refused to apologise, asserting his constitutional right to question government actions.
Link to Rahul Gandhi's Earlier Comments on Operation Sindoor
The BJP has also connected the current row to previous remarks made by Rahul Gandhi concerning Operation Sindoor. The Congress leader had cited former US President Donald Trump, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi halted military action under external pressure.
Gandhi had claimed, "Trump dialled PM Modi and said... whatever you're doing, stop it within 24 hours, and Narendra Modi stopped everything within five hours." The Indian government has categorically rejected this claim multiple times. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar informed Parliament that no such call occurred between the two leaders during the period in question, and PM Modi himself stated in the Lok Sabha, "No world leader asked for suspension of Operation Sindoor."
Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian military on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. This action was a direct response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the tragic death of 26 civilians.
