India's main opposition Congress party has demanded the resignation of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accusing him of misleading the country’s Parliament over casualties during Operation Sindoor.
Stepping up its attack on the federal government over the deaths of six military personnel during the May 2025 operation, the opposition party has also demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing a press conference, chairperson of the Congress's Ex-servicemen Department Col. Rohit Chaudhry (Retd.) and Wing Commander Anuma Acharya (Retd.) alleged that by concealing the deaths of six personnel — five from the Indian Army and one from the Indian Air Force — the government had denied them due public recognition and honour.
Opposition alleges political betrayal
Wing Commander Acharya claimed that previous governments had publicly honoured every soldier who made the supreme sacrifice and accused the present dispensation of "politicising the armed forces."
"The Modi government, which politicises the army and soldiers, has repeatedly betrayed the country and the soldiers," she said.
Col. Chaudhry accused India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using "soldiers as props" while seeking votes in the name of the armed forces.
"When Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was lying in Parliament that no soldier had been martyred, BJP MPs were clapping. Rajnath Singh has insulted the country's army and soldiers. We demand his resignation," Col. Chaudhry said, questioning why it had taken 13 months for their names to be made public.
Listing the party's demands, Col. Chaudhry said the Congress would urge its leadership to move a breach-of-privilege motion against the Defence Minister.
India released names of six soldiers killed in Operation Sindoor more than a year after May 2025 Pakistan conflict.
Until now, the government of India had not officially disclosed the identities of personnel killed during Operation Sindoor, despite reports about Indian military casualties during the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025.
