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United News of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- United News of India
Controversy erupts over Defence Attache's remarks on Op Sindoor aircraft losses; Indian Embassy says 'quoted out of context'
New Delhi, June 29 (UNI) The Indian Embassy in Indonesia today sought to clarify the remarks on Operation Sindoor made by the Defence Attache at a seminar, saying that he had been quoted out of context. The controversy arose from media reports quoting a portion of Defence Attache Captain Shiv Kumar's remarks during a 35-minute presentation on Operation Sindoor. To a query that India had lost many aircraft, he said that India 'did lose some aircraft and that happened only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack their (Pakistan's) military establishment or their air defences. But after the loss, we changed our tactics and went for their military installations. So, we first achieved success of destruction of their military air defences, and that is why all our missiles were able to easily go through, our Brahmos, and surface-to-surface missiles,' Indian Defence Attaché to Indonesia Capt Shiv Kumar is quoted as media reports on his remarks, the Indian Embassy in a late evening statement said: 'We have seen media reports regarding a presentation made by the Defence Attache at a Seminar. 'His remarks have been quoted out of context and the media reports are a mis-representation of the intention and thrust of the presentation made by the speaker. 'The presentation conveyed that the Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood. 'It was also explained that the objective of Operation Sindoor was to target terrorist infrastructure and the Indian response was non-escalatory.'However, the Congress was quick to seize upon the controversy. Congress leader Pawan Khera, posting a picture of a media report on the subject, wrote on X: 'The Modi government has misled the nation from the start - failing to disclose the aircraft losses during Operation Sindoor. 'There were oblique references to losses in air combat on 6/7 May, during a briefing by the DG Air Ops (Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti) when he said - 'we are in a combat situation and losses are a part of combat.' 'Then, it was left to Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan to make the first official admission of our attrition in the air while speaking to Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. 'And now, in another shocking revelation by Capt. Shiv Kumar, it has emerged that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025 during its targeting of Pakistan's terror-linked sites 'only because of the constraint given by the political leadership.''This is a direct indictment of the Modi Government, particularly Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. No wonder they are ducking our demand for a Special Session of Parliament like the plague. They know they've compromised national security, and they're terrified of what the Congress Party will expose before the people of India.' His post was reposted by senior party leader Jairam Ramesh. UNI RN
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Operation Sindoor: Congress renews 'India lost jets' claim, says 'Modi government compromised national security'
NEW DELHI: Congress on Sunday latched on to the remarks of Captain Shiv Kumar to rake up its attack on the government, accusing it of failing to disclose aircraft losses during Operation Sindoor . In a social media post on X, Congress leader Pawan Khera cited India's defence attaché to Indonesia and claimed that "Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan only because of the constraint given by the political leadership. " "In another shocking revelation by Capt. Shiv Kumar, it has emerged that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025, during its targeting of Pakistan's terror-linked sites — only because of the constraint given by the political leadership," Khera said. "This is a direct indictment of the Modi government, particularly defence minister Rajnath Singh. No wonder they are ducking our demand for a Special Session of Parliament like the plague. They know they've compromised national security, and they're terrified of what the Congress Party will expose before the people of India," he added. This comes after India's defence attaché to Indonesia, Captain (Indian Navy) Shiv Kumar, reportedly said that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7 during its targeting of Pakistan's terror-linked sites. Shiv Kumar said that even though he 'may not agree that we lost so many aircraft, I do agree we did lose some aircraft.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Adidas Three Shorts With 60% Discount, Limited Stock Available Original Adidas Shop Now Undo Earlier, Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces General Anil Chauhan categorically rejected Pakistan's claims that it had shot down six Indian warplanes during Operation Sindoor, calling the information "absolutely incorrect." The CDS added that "what is important is not the jet being downed, but why they were being downed." "The good part is that we were able to understand the tactical mistake we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days — and flew all our jets again, targeting at long range," General Chauhan said during an interview with Bloomberg TV when asked about Pakistan's claims. "What is important is not the jet being downed, but why they were downed," the CDS said, adding: "Why they were downed, what mistakes were made — those are important... Numbers are not important." Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7, targeting terror bases in Pakistan in retaliation for the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Mahagatbandhan blasts electoral revision, says drill a design to rig polls
The opposition Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance (GA) in Bihar on Friday went ballistic against the Election Commission of India ( ECI)'s latest move to conduct Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state calling it 'undemocratic' and alleged that the exercise was a covert attempt to snatch citizenship of the poor and oppressed, and, in turn, rig the upcoming assembly elections by disenfranchising millions of Bihar voters. Leader of Opposition and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav with Bihar Congress president Rajesh Ram, Congress leader Pawan Khera, CPI-ML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and others at a joint press conference of Grand Alliance ahead of Bihar Assembly election 2025 at Polo Road in Patna on Friday. (Santosh Kumar/HT) The GA partners during a meeting in Patna also questioned the 25-day time-frame set for the exercise, saying that it was impossible to cover the whole state within such a short span. 'Is it possible to conduct house to house verification of around eight crore voters within 25 days by the ECI in Bihar? The last SIR was done in a period of two years. If, indeed, it is possible, I would challenge the Centre to get the caste census done in two months flat. This is why we get a smell of conspiracy about the conduct of SIR just before the polls. It is an attempt to snatch citizenship of people of Bihar in big numbers, especially poor and oppressed classes by making them first ineligible to vote and then deprive them from ration card, scholarships, government schemes, etc. Chief minister Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have a role in it,' alleged leader of the Opposition, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, while addressing a joint presser with top GA leaders that included AICC member and senior Congress leader Pawan Khera, CPI-ML(iberation) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, in Patna. The GA leaders announced that a delegation of the INDIA bloc would soon meet the Election Commission of India (ECI) officials to raise the issue of impracticality of conducting SIR just two months before the state polls and also setting conditions of providing documents like birth certificates, matriculation certificates to establish one's place of birth and/or date of birth. The SIR in Bihar, under which the voters' list would be prepared after house to house verification of voters from June 25 to July 26, is being done after 22 years as the last such exercise was done in 2003. Bihar has 7.80 crore (78 millions) voters as per the updated voters list published on January 7, 2025. 'Our delegation will soon meet the ECI and raise the issues pertaining to the SRI like condition of providing documents to establish place of birth/ date of birth of parents of voters born between 1987 to 2004 and later. How can people in such big number procure documents like birth certificates and other documents? We will also ask why the SIR is being done in Bihar when polls are so near and monsoon season has arrived when 73% of the state remains affected by the floods,' Yadav said, a point also supported by Bhattacharya and Khera. 'The SIR is an attack on one's citizenship. PM Modi is known for pulling 'masterstrokes'. This SIR is a master stroke indeed as Bihar is a laboratory and such exercises would be done across the country. This is a conspiracy to make youths, poor, OBCs and Dalits ineligible to vote and also deprive them from benefits of different government schemes,' Khera said. He also questioned that why does the ECI need to conduct a fresh electoral poll exercise when it must be having voter date of 2024 Lok Sabha polls. 'Did the ECI not have any data of voters in 2024 polls? If not, they should first declare the 2024 parliamentary polls invalid,' said the senior Congress leader. State Congress president Rajesh Kumar too echoed similar views. ML's Bhattacharya, who wrote a letter to the EC voicing his opposition a day ago, claimed that the proposed exercise would be a 'logistical nightmare'. 'Why did not the EC tell us about SIR when workshops were being held recently for booth level agents in New Delhi for Bihar polls? Why did they keep this exercise under wraps or was this done as an afterthought? If that is so, it is highly objectionable and it is nothing short of murder of democracy,' he said, adding that the GA would not accept the SIR at any cost. In order to illustrate stark flaw in the ECI move, Tejashwi quoted government data. He said that it would be nearly impossible for millions of voters to provide documents like birth certificates, educational certificates in Bihar where registration of births and literacy rate are low. 'In Bihar, there are 59% of voters (estimated 4.76 crore out of around 8 crore voters) who are in the age group of 20-40 years of which around 85% (20-38 age group) of them have to give documents of their parents. Data shows that the issuance of birth certificates from 2001 to 2025 is 2.8% while NFHS-2 data shows that only 10-13% of the population in Bihar in the age group of 40-60 years has done matriculation or attained higher education. How will millions of people in Bihar from rural areas get birth certificates in the next 25 days?' Yadav asked. He also questioned why the ECI not considering aadhaar card as a primary document for registration in voting list. However, the leader of the Opposition did not specify what the GA plans to do in case the ECI does not accept their objections about SIR. 'First, we plan to meet the EC officials and would like to get replies to our concerns and objections. We want to be transparent. Then we will take further steps. We will let you all know about it,' said Yadav. CPI's Ram Babu Kumar CPM's Arun Mishra and Dev Jyoti from Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) -- all constituents of the INDIA bloc -- too expressed their views and said the GA would not accept SIR at any cost. 'This is akin to conducting the National Register of Citizens (NRC),' said Dev Jyoti, senior VIP leader.
India Gazette
5 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Election Commission runs like PM Modi's puppet": Cong leader Pawan Khera on ECI's decision to revise electoral roll ahead of Bihar polls
Patna (Bihar) [India], June 27 (ANI): Following the Election Commission of India's (ECI) decision to revise the electoral roll ahead of Bihar Assembly Elections, Congress leader Pawan Khera on Friday called ECI Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'puppet.' 'We will talk about the Election Commission... Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and various leaders of the INDIA bloc are continuously discussing these issues. But the Election Commission runs like PM Modi's puppet,' Khera told the reporters during his visit to Bihar. He added, 'For a long time, we have been pressuring the Election Commission and saying their process is not transparent. With this new conspiracy, lakhs of people in Bihar and across India will be deprived of their right to vote.' Meanwhile, as the BJP leaders demand an apology from Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for allegedly calling Bihar a 'small' state, Pawan Khera said that the BJP is misrepresenting the issue. He added that Kharge used the term 'small nations' and then proceeded to discuss Bihar. 'I was sitting next to him (Kharge), He did not make any such comment about Bihar. He said 'small nations' and then spoke about Bihar. This misrepresentation is not new to the BJP,' Khera said on Friday. As the BJP observed the 50 years of the Emergency as Samvidhan Hatya Divas, Khera hit back and called 'Amrit Kaal' an undeclared emergency. 'What they call Amrit Kaal is an undeclared emergency. The leader and the party in power used the Constitution to impose the Emergency, remove it and also apologised for it. The public forgave her, and the same leader, same party returned to power with 353 seats,' he told the reporters. Earlier, on Thursday, Khera took to X to oppose the ECI's decision to revise the electoral roll. Sharing All India Congress Committee's statement, he wrote, 'The proposed Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls carries a huge risk of willful exclusion of voters using the power of the state machinery. 'Our statement on @ECISVEEP announcement of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls for Bihar.' (ANI)
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Business Standard
5 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Cong opposes EC's electoral roll revision, says 'willful voter exclusion'
The Congress on Thursday opposed the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of this year's assembly polls saying it carries the risk of "willful exclusion" of voters using the state machinery. In a statement, the Congress' empowered action group of leaders and experts (EAGLE), said this revision of electoral rolls by the EC is a "cure worse than the disease". The leaders said by undertaking the revision in Bihar and some other states, the EC has "admitted that all is not well" with India's electoral rolls. "The Congress party firmly opposes the SIR proposal of the EC for the Bihar state elections and subsequently in other states," the group said. The revision means that the EC will visit every single household and re-enroll every eligible voter in Bihar after a verification of identity and residential documents, the group said, adding that in simple terms, the poll panel wants to discard the current electoral rolls entirely and create a fresh new electoral roll for the state. "This is a clear and explicit admission by the EC that all is not well with India's electoral rolls. Exactly what the Congress party and the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi have been repeatedly pointing out with evidence from Maharashtra. "But the revision is a devious and dubious idea in the disguise of a solution. Lakhs of union and state government officials will now control and dictate who has correct documents and who doesn't, who gets to vote in the upcoming Bihar elections etc. This carries a huge risk of willful exclusion of voters using the power of the state machinery," the Congress experts and leaders said. They said the EC has come up with arduous rules for providing birth certificates of voters and their parents depending on the year of birth. These rules, the Congress said, are "arbitrary, whimsical and onerous" on the estimated 8.1 crore eligible voters in Bihar in 2025 (as per report of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, November 2019). The party said the EC had mooted a proposal on March 8 for electoral roll cleaning using Aadhaar, which while not perfect, is a more viable alternative solution than a electoral rolls revision in Bihar. "Why did the EC abandon that to suddenly announce an SIR three months after the Aadhaar proposal," it asked. Given the EC's dogged resistance to the Congress' long pending demand for Maharashtra electoral rolls and its dubious actions in the past, the party said, there is enough reason to be suspect about EC's plans for a revision in Bihar just a few months before an election. Congress leader Pawan Khera said, "the proposed Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls carries a huge risk of willful exclusion of voters using the power of the state machinery." The EC has said that it will carry out the intensive review of electoral rolls this year in six states beginning with Bihar to weed out foreign illegal migrants by checking their place of birth. Bihar is going to polls this year while assembly polls in five other states -- Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal -- are scheduled in 2026.
