The BJP on Tuesday upped its ante against Rahul Gandhi for questioning the government on possible aircraft losses during Operation Sindoor, dubbing him “modern-age Mir Jafar” and seeking to equate him with Pakistan army boss Asim Munir.

The BJP has intensified its attack on Rahul since Monday when he pressed on with his grilling of external affairs minister S. Jaishankar over his assertion that he had given Pakistan advance warning of Operation Sindoor. Rahul asked how many fighter jets India had lost as a result.

BJP social media head Amit Malviya, who had on Monday accused the Congress leader of “speaking the language of Pakistan”, posted a digitally altered image of Rahul’s face merged with that of Munir. The image was titled: “ONE AGENDA”.

Malviya slammed Rahul for repeatedly asking about the loss of aircraft and suggested that he could be aspiring for “Nishan-e-Pakistan”, that country’s highest civilian award.

“It is not surprising that Rahul Gandhi is speaking the language of Pakistan and its benefactors. He hasn’t congratulated the Prime Minister on the flawless #OperationSindoor, which unmistakably showcases India’s dominance. Instead, he repeatedly asks how many jets we lost — a question that has already been addressed in the DGMO briefings,” the BJP leader’s post said. “What next for Rahul Gandhi? The Nishan-e-Pakistan?” he added.

The armed forces had brushed aside questions on potential losses of Indian fighter jets in their media briefings while stressing that “all our pilots are back home”.

“As for details about what we lost, I wouldn’t comment at this time as we are still in a combat situation and any comment would be to the adversary’s advantage,” Air Marshal A.K. Bharti had said on May 11. Since then, the government has refrained from providing any information on whether India lost military assets during Operation Sindoor.

While most Opposition parties have shied away from questioning the government over the fear of being branded “anti-national”, Rahul has sought to flag the issue, prompting the BJP to launch a full-throttle attack on him.

“EAM Jaishankar’s silence isn’t just telling — it’s damning. So I’ll ask again: How many Indian aircraft did we lose because Pakistan knew? This wasn’t a lapse. It was a crime. And the nation deserves the truth,” Rahul had posted on Monday.

The foreign ministry has alleged a “misrepresentation of facts” by Rahul, saying Pakistan had been warned during the “early phase after Operation Sindoor’s commencement” and not before
it started.

Malviya also posted a cartoon titled “Rahul Gandhi is the new-age Mir Jafar”, which showed the Congress MP asking the Indian Army from the Pakistan side of the border: “How many aircraft we lost?”

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera slammed the BJP for responding to serious questions by the Opposition with cartoons.

“As far as Nishan-e-Pakistan is concerned, their leader Morarji Desai was the only Indian leader who was awarded it… Some more people deserve Nishan-e-Pakistan, like L.K. Advani and the person who went to eat biryani with Nawaz Sharif without being invited,” Khera said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.