The Congress accused the Modi government of misleading the nation and demanded a special session of the Parliament on Saturday, after Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan admitted to a foreign publication that India suffered aircraft losses during recent India-Pakistan hostilities.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of misleading the nation and demanding a special session of Parliament. “The Modi Government has misled the nation. The fog of war is now clearing,” Kharge posted on X.

He said that only a special Parliament session could bring clarity and accountability.

“In the wake of the remarks made by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in Singapore in an interview, there are some very important questions that need to be asked. These can only be done if a special session of the Parliament is immediately convened,” he wrote.

Kharge demanded a comprehensive review of India’s defence preparedness, modeled on the Kargil Review Committee.

“The Congress party demands a Comprehensive Review of our Defence Preparedness by an independent expert committee, on the lines of the Kargil Review Committee,” he said.

While General Chauhan rejected Pakistan's claim of downing six Indian jets as "absolutely incorrect", he also stated, “I think what is important is not the jet being downed but why they were being downed.”

Kharge reminded the government of its responsibilities. “Is India and Pakistan now again hyphenated? What are the conditions of the ceasefire agreement? The 140 crore patriotic Indians deserve to know this.”

He also brought up Donald Trump’s claim on Friday of brokering a ceasefire and questioned why the Modi government hadn't addressed the former US President's repeated assertions.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “It is an extraordinary and telling commentary on Emergency@11 that the PM will not chair all-party meetings and will not take Parliament into confidence but the nation gets to know of the first phase of Operation Sindoor through the CDS's interview in Singapore.”

“Couldn't opposition leaders have been taken into confidence by the PM earlier?” Ramesh asked.

Ramesh also pointed out how the Vajpayee government had constituted the Kargil Review Committee just three days after the Kargil war ended. “Will the Modi government now take a similar step in light of what the Chief of Defence Staff has just revealed in Singapore?” he asked.

Congress leader Uttam Kumar Reddy, a former IAF pilot, said the nation deserves transparency. “It appears very clearly a Rafale fighter aircraft was downed in the four-day operations. The fact that the fighter aircraft were down is something that the Government of India needs to stop denying. The CDS himself mentioned that,” he said.

He said that Air Marshal A.K. Bharti had already hinted at losses during a May 11 press conference, stating, “losses are a part of combat,” while confirming that all pilots returned safely.

“When Rahul Gandhi first pointed it out in a question to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the ruling party functionaries at all levels accused him of not being patriotic,” Reddy said. “The CDS himself has mentioned it and Air Marshal Bharti has also done so.”

He added, “Today the whole country must realise that for some reason the Government of India was not upfront with whatever happened... Most of the firing in the four-day operation was done by respective countries from within their borders; still, we lost our aircraft. I think this needs serious reassessment of technology so that lessons are learnt.”

Reddy asked if General Chauhan would be called anti- national. “We are not playing politics. We are proud of our armed forces’s decisive victory over Pakistan. We want to know the truth about the reverses for lessons for future conflicts. The moot point is every time we have raised this, they have said we are anti-patriotic, anti-national. Are they going to accuse Gen Chauhan of this now?”

“A government has to be transparent. Accountability is normal in a democracy. This is not about patriotism,” said Uttam Reddy. “We are more patriotic. Our first family, the Gandhi family, have suffered and have made huge sacrifices for the integrity of the country and these people question us. This is really shocking.”

The Congress insisted it’s not questioning the armed forces — only the government.

“We are very proud of our armed forces and we have seen the satellite pictures,” said Reddy. “Please tell us how many Pakistan Air Force aircraft you have downed and Indian aircraft that were down. The Government of India should stop hiding behind the bravery of our soldiers and start answering the questions raised by their own Chief of Defence Staff.”

T.S. Singh Deo, former deputy chief minister of Chhattisgarh, called out the government’s alleged attempts at obfuscation. “CDS General Anil Chauhan said in Singapore what the Modi government had been hiding — Indian fighter planes had crashed. When asked if our planes crashed during the confrontation with Pakistan, the General clearly stated — ‘The question is not whether the planes crashed... the question is why they crashed and what we did afterward.’ The meaning is clear — planes did crash, and there was an attempt to cover it up.”

The BJP attempted to shift focus. BJP leader Ajay Alok referenced the Mahabharata.

“During the Mahabharata, when war conditions arose, Yudhishtar said ‘Ashwathama Hatah Kunjaraha’ to boost his side’s morale and lower the enemy’s. Today, CDS has clearly denied Pakistan’s claim of downing six Indian jets. He rightly said that the number of jets that went down isn’t important — understanding why they went down is what matters," Alok said.