New Delhi [India]: BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla has launched a sharp attack on Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of “spreading fake news” and aiding Pakistan’s narrative in the aftermath of India’s Operation Sindoor.
Responding to Gandhi’s tweet alleging that the government “informed Pakistan” ahead of the counter-terror operation, Poonawalla said:
“Rahul Gandhi and Congress are factories of fake news… This is not the first time Congress is spreading such a lie, which can be misused by Pakistan. Rahul Gandhi had spread lies about surgical strikes, Balakot airstrike and the Pulwama incident.”
He further claimed that Congress had a history of undermining India’s military actions and national interest:
“Rahul Gandhi’s statements on Article 370 had ended up in Pakistan’s dossier, and Congress had begged Pakistan for help in removing the Modi government. Mani Shankar Aiyar went to Pakistan at Sonia Gandhi’s behest and asked them to help remove Modi.”
He also accused Gandhi of promoting Pakistan’s talking points at a time when the world is acknowledging India’s firm stand against terrorism:
“Today, when the entire world has exposed Pakistan, when there is clear evidence of how Pakistan has harbored terrorists… Rahul Gandhi is still trying to promote Pakistan’s narrative.”
Defending External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, Poonawalla said:
“EAM Jaishankar’s statement aligns with the statement of DGMO (Director General of Military Operations), so is Rahul Gandhi levelling such baseless allegations against DGMO?”
“He (Rahul Gandhi) continues to spread lies that have already been fact-checked and debunked by PIB and the Ministry of External Affairs. If you see, even Amit Malviya tweeted how what Jaishankar said is aligned with the DGMO’s statement. There is a part of Congress that still speaks like that of Pakistan’s DG ISPR.”
He also alleged that such remarks demoralize the Indian armed forces:
“Rahul Gandhi must realise that the Indian government’s stance has been clear — that India’s assets were not harmed. Yet, Rahul Gandhi makes such unfounded allegations just to be quoted by Pakistani media, and the Congress party continuously demoralises the Indian Army with such actions.”
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had posted a video on X showing EAM Jaishankar speaking after the inauguration of the Honduras Embassy in Delhi. Accompanying the video, Gandhi wrote:
“Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that the GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?”
In response, the Ministry of External Affairs issued a strong rebuttal, calling Gandhi’s claims an “utter misrepresentation of facts”:
“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.”
Operation Sindoor was launched by India on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians. Over 100 terrorists linked to JeM, LeT, and Hizbul Mujahideen were eliminated during the strikes.