New Delhi: Days after the government revealed the names of six military personnel who died during Operation Sindoor, the Congress on Tuesday accused Defence Minister Rajnath Singh of misleading Parliament by allegedly concealing the casualties. The party has demanded privilege proceedings against him, claiming his statement in the Lok Sabha last year that no Indian soldier was martyred during the operation was factually incorrect.
Congress leader K C Venugopal on Tuesday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, demanding that privilege proceedings be initiated against Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for allegedly misleading Parliament by stating that no Indian soldier was martyred after the Pahalgam terror attack last year.
In his letter to the Speaker, Venugopal submitted a notice of privilege under Rule 223 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha against the defence minister for allegedly misleading the House.
Venugopal said that on July 28, 2025, during a discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent Operation Sindoor, Rajnath Singh had stated that no harm had come to Indian soldiers.
He said that the government later confirmed that six armed forces personnel had died during Operation Sindoor.
"The aforesaid position clearly indicates that the minister of defence, by stating on the floor of the House that there had been no casualties during Operation Sindoor, was clearly misleading and incorrect.
"It is well established that misleading the House or withholding information by a minister on the floor of the House constitutes a breach of privilege and contempt of Parliament.
"In view of the foregoing, I request that privilege proceedings be initiated against the minister of defence in the matter," Venugopal, who is also the chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, said.
In a post on X, Venugopal alleged that Singh had lied to the people of India during the Lok Sabha debate on Operation Sindoor.
"It was a straightforward, clear-cut lie to mislead the House. How could he, in July 2025, say that no Indian soldier was martyred, and then a year later the armed forces announce that we lost six jawans?" the Congress leader asked.
"It is a grave insult to the families of these six martyrs and the entire armed forces that the people of India were not told of their bravery and ultimate sacrifice.
"They died in service of our nation while defending it against our enemies, and the so-called nationalist government simply lied about their martyrdom," Venugopal said.
The names of six military personnel — five from the Indian Army and one from the Indian Air Force — who died in the line of duty during Operation Sindoor last year were recently inscribed on a wall at the National War Memorial as a tribute to the fallen heroes.
It was the first time since the Indian armed forces' military operation in May 2025 that the government officially released the names of the six personnel.
Amid the controversy, the Defence Ministry said the nation had paid homage to the fallen personnel at the "earliest opportunity" and that their memory would always be honoured with the dignity and reverence they deserved.
The ministry also said that "certain posts circulating on social media" had sought to "misrepresent" the defence minister's address in Parliament on July 28 last year.
It said those posts had "selectively quoted an isolated portion of the speech to falsely imply that the defence minister claimed that no Indian soldier lost his life during Operation Sindoor", adding that the claims were "deliberately misleading and factually incorrect".
Operation Sindoor was launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, which claimed 26 lives, mostly civilians.
