‘Silence is damning’ : Rahul Gandhi attacks S Jaishankar alleging ‘crime’

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday repeated his earlier claim that External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar ‘at the start’ informed Pakistan about Operation Sindoor, calling it not a ‘lapse’ but a ‘crime’.

The BJP hit back at Rahul Gandhi saying that Gandhi’s misrepresentation of the minister’s remarks ‘reeks of malafide intent’.

In a video that Rahul Gandhi brought out, Dr Jaishanker was heard telling the media that India sent a message to Pakistan at the start of the operation saying that the country was ‘striking at infrastructure and 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 good advice’.

Sharing a video of Dr Jaishankar interacting with the media, Rahul Gandhi said that informing Pakistan at the start of the attack was a crime, ‘EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorized it? How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result?’

Posting the video again today, Gandhi said Jaishankar’s ‘silence isn't just telling - it's damning’, asking again ‘How many Indian aircraft did we lose because Pakistan knew? This wasn't a lapse. It was a crime. And the nation deserves the truth.’

Repeating Gandhi’s allegation against Jaishanker, Congress leader Pawan Khera said the External Affairs Minister’s informing of Pakistan about the operation ‘beforehand’ is not ‘diplomacy’ but ‘espionage’, adding ‘Everyone heard what the External Affairs Minister said. A cover-up is being done’.

Khera also asked if the information about Operation Sindoor helped Pakistan based terrorists including Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed escape India's airstrikes on terror bases.

Coming down heavily on the statement, Khera said ‘This statement suggests that the terrorists must have fled their bases. Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister must answer why this was done.’

The External Affairs Ministry accused Rahul Gandhi of falsely misrepresenting Jaishanker’s words.

‘EAM had stated that we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Op Sindoor's commencement. This is being falsely represented as being before the commencement. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out,’ the ministry reportedly said.

Meanwhile, the Press Information Bureau’s fact checking wing said that the minister was misquoted: “The social media post falsely implies from External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar's statement that India informed Pakistan before the start of #OperationSindoor. EAM is being misquoted and he has not made this statement. Remain vigilant and avoid falling for deceptive information’.