NEW DELHI – Congress leader and former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, lauded India’s military leadership during and after ‘Operation Sindoor’ but sharply criticized the Centre for what he described as a failure to match their candour, decisiveness, and strategy.
Participating in a special discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror attack, the Congress veteran highlighted the military’s transparency. “The Chief of Defence Staff was candid about losses. The Deputy Chief of Army Staff admitted Chinese aircraft and missiles were deployed by Pakistan. If true, China is testing its military hardware in our conflict.”
Drawing a stark contrast with the government’s response, he questioned, “Where is the strategy? Why has the government not admitted the intelligence and security failures that led to the Pahalgam attack?”
Chidambaram also raised serious questions about the ceasefire that ended Operation Sindoor. “On December 16, 1971, there was a historic victory. General Niazi surrendered to General Jagjit Singh Aurora along with 93,000 soldiers. It was the largest surrender of prisoners of war after World War II. On the contrary, Operation Sindoor ended with a ceasefire. I think the people of India know the difference between a surrender and a ceasefire.” He questioned why India agreed to a ceasefire when the operation against Pakistan was reportedly successful.
The former Home Minister further asserted that India is no longer fighting a one-front or a two-front war. “Pakistan and China are no longer different fronts, but are fused fronts,” he stated, citing the reported use of Chinese aircraft and missiles by Pakistan during the conflict. He then challenged the government: “Where is your plan to take on not a one-front war, not a two-front war, but a fused front war of India fighting Pakistan and China fused together, and also some other players?”
Chidambaram also took aim at United States President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of brokering an India-Pakistan ceasefire. He alleged that the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both nations could not have agreed to a ceasefire without political approval from their respective governments. “President Trump declared the ceasefire. Not even a note of protest from our government,” he said, highlighting what he perceived as a lack of response to US actions, including steep tariffs, deportations of Indian migrants “in handcuffs and shackles,” and restrictions on foreign students.
He also questioned the government’s diplomatic outreach post-Operation Sindoor, observing that while delegations were sent to various countries, none were sent to immediate neighbours like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and the Maldives. He further lamented that while “everyone condemned terrorism and sympathised with terror victims in India after the Pahalgam attack, but no country named and shamed Pakistan.”
P. Chidambaram Lauds Military Leadership In Operation Sindoor, Criticizes Government’s Lack Of Candour
