New Delhi [India], July 27 (HBTV): Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the government's handling of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, drawing a comparison with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s approach during the 1999 Kargil War.

In a post on social media platform X, Ramesh recalled that the Vajpayee government had constituted a four-member Kargil Review Committee just days after the conflict ended. “It bears recall that on July 30, 1999, three days after the India-Pakistan war ended, the Vajpayee government set up a four-member Kargil Review Committee. This was chaired by K. Subrahmanyam, whose son is now India's External Affairs Minister. The Committee submitted its report ‘From Surprise to Reckoning’ on December 15, 1999. It was tabled in Parliament with suitable redactions on February 23, 2000. It was also discussed. But that was a different PM, a different BJP as ruling party, and a different political climate,” he wrote.

The Congress MP criticised the government for what he described as inadequate accountability and transparency following the April 22, 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. He said that despite multiple incidents, including the Poonch (December 2023) and Gangagir and Gulmarg (October 2024) attacks, the perpetrators have yet to be brought to justice.

Ahead of the upcoming debate on Operation Sindoor in Parliament, Ramesh reiterated the Congress party’s demand for a special session. “The Lok Sabha is scheduled to begin a 16-hour debate on Pahalgam–Op Sindoor tomorrow and the Rajya Sabha is set to do so day after tomorrow. The INC had been demanding a special two-day session of Parliament immediately after Operation Sindoor was abruptly halted. That demand was ignored,” he said.

He also criticised the Prime Minister for not chairing the all-party meeting held on the day of the Pahalgam attacks. “At the request of the INC, an all-party meeting was held and chaired—not by the PM as demanded but by the Raksha Mantri—on April 22, 2025, where questions on intelligence lapses were raised,” he said.

Ramesh referred to a series of statements made by senior military officials, including Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, who reportedly acknowledged tactical errors in the initial phase of Operation Sindoor. “On May 30, 2025, General Anil Chauhan made significant revelations on tactical mistakes in the first two days of Operation Sindoor. These revelations were made in Singapore,” he said.

He further cited remarks made by India’s Defence Attaché to Indonesia, Group Captain Shiv Kumar, on June 29, who allegedly suggested that political decisions had hampered military operations and hinted at aircraft losses.

Adding to the controversy, Ramesh referenced a statement by Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Rahul R Singh, made on July 4, claiming that Indian forces encountered Chinese capabilities during Operation Sindoor. “India had actually contended and battled China during Op Sindoor, both in terms of hardware and software. This was a completely new scenario,” Ramesh wrote.

He also quoted Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who on July 14 acknowledged that the Pahalgam attack represented a security failure.

Ramesh criticised the central government’s diplomatic response to U.S. involvement, particularly repeated claims by former President Donald Trump that he personally brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. “Since May 10, President Trump has claimed 26 times that he stopped Operation Sindoor by threatening to cut off trade with India, and claimed that five fighter jets may have been shot down. He has hosted the Pakistan Army Chief for lunch, which has never been done before,” Ramesh said.

He added that the U.S. Central Command and Secretary of State have both issued recent statements praising Pakistan’s role in counter-terrorism, which he argued undermined India’s narrative during the conflict.

“The outlandish claims made by sections of the Indian media during Operation Sindoor—with instigation by the PM’s media managers—led to a mockery of whatever serious narrative was sought to be built up. In any case, this narrative clearly had more takers at home than in countries where an outreach took place,” he said.

The remarks are the latest in the Congress party’s ongoing criticism of the Modi government's handling of Operation Sindoor and its aftermath.

On Saturday, Ramesh had posted another statement criticising President Trump for repeating his claims about brokering a ceasefire. “President Trump is now mediating between Cambodia and Thailand and is using the opportunity to make the claim—for the 26th time—on a US-brokered ceasefire between India and Pakistan,” he wrote.

(ANI)