New Delhi [India], June 1 (ANI): Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Sunday expressed disappointment that the Defence Minister did not share crucial information with opposition leaders in two all-party meetings, following recent comments made by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan in Singapore.
He further questioned why the government waited for Gen Chauhan to make these revelations rather than share the information with opposition leaders and convene a special session of Parliament.
“It would have been better that what he has spoken, the Defence Minister should have said in the two all-party meetings he had chaired… Whatever Gen Chauhan has said, this information should have been shared with the opposition leaders, and a special session of the Parliament should have been convened. We had to wait for General Chauhan to make these revelations from Singapore…” Ramesh told ANI.
The Congress leader also highlighted the importance of the Kargil Review Committee report, which was presented to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1999, when it formed a Kargil review committee under Indian journalist and international strategic affairs analyst K Subrahmanyam, just three days after the war ended and tabled in Parliament in 2000.
“Three days after the Kargil war ended, Prime Minister Vajpayee set up a Kargil Review Committee… The report was prepared by four members, including the father of EAM Dr S Jaishankar… There were four members: K Subramaniam, General Hazari, B.G. Varghese, and Satish Chandra. (And on 15 December 1999, they presented their report to the Vajpayee government. And on 23 February 2000, that report was presented in the Parliament. Look, this is the report. ‘From Surprise to Reckoning’ Kargil Review Committee.
December 15, 1999. This is a 150-page report that was tabled in Parliament.”, Ramesh said.
He stated that while military issues require specialised discussion, political issues, such as the nexus between China and Pakistan, must be addressed in all-party meetings with the Prime Minister.
“There are military issues which only the military can discuss, but there are political issues… This nexus between China and Pakistan, which became very apparent during Op Sindoor, needs to be addressed in the all-party meeting with the Prime Minister in the chair… Why did we have to wait for statements from Singapore? We are supposed to be the mother of democracy… The issues that Gen Chauhan raised are critical and they impinge not just on military strategy, they impinge on foreign policy, economic strategy, and diplomatic strategy…”
Earlier, speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the CDS admitted that the Armed Forces had suffered losses in the initial stages of the operation but then struck with impunity at Pakistan’s bases.
“So what I can say is, on May 7 and the initial stages, there were losses, but the numbers and that’s not important. What was important is why did these losses occur, and what will we do after that? So we rectified the tactics and then went back on seventh, eighth and 10th, and 10th in large numbers, to hit their bases deep inside Pakistan, penetrated all their defences with impunity, with scattered opposition strikes,” Gen Chauhan was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Earlier, on May 11, Director General Air Operations Air Marshal Bharti, when commenting on Aircraft losses, had said, “I can’t comment about loss of aircraft as we are in a combat scenario and losses are part of combat.”
Meanwhile, speaking to Reuters, General Chauhan dismissed Pakistan’s claims that India ceased aerial operations after May 7, stating that India’s response became more sustained and powerful. Indian fighter jets, drones, and missiles struck 11 Pakistani air bases on May 10, including one near the Pakistani capital Islamabad, the Nur Khan airbase, when the residents surrounding were able to witness a sort of ‘new dawn’ in the middle of the night, as PM Narendra Modi put forth during his speech following the cessation of hostilities at Adampur airbase.
Satellite imagery, both from Indian sources and global platforms, later confirmed the precision of these strikes as well as how devastating they have been.
After India carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan, the Pakistani side responded by attempting to target defence and civilian installations in India. India then carried out another series of precision attacks, which saw the destruction of several Pakistani air bases. An understanding on the cessation of hostilities was then reached between the two sides on May 10. (ANI)
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