Opposition leaders on Saturday accused defence minister Rajnath Singh of lying in Parliament and misleading the nation after the government on Friday released the names of the six soldiers who had died during Operation Sindoor.
Singh had asserted a year ago in Parliament that “no soldiers were harmed” during the operation.
Posting a video of Singh speaking in Parliament, Arvind Kejriwal’s party, AAP, alleged the BJP which “scams on the coffins of martyrs” had misled the public about casualties suffered during Operation Sindoor.
AAP claimed that the revelation showed that "the BJP belongs neither to the soldiers nor to Lord Ram."
BJD MP Sulata Deo expressed surprise over the Centre’s disclosure, saying Parliament had intensively discussed Operation Sindoor last year while it was in session, but no one was informed about the fatalities.
"If this is true, then it is a very unfortunate matter. Those who are martyred deserve due respect, and their families should also receive the same level of respect," Sulata Deo told PTI, adding that she did not know what the government was trying to hide by not disclosing such crucial information.
The Centre had on Friday released the names of the six soldiers killed during Operation Sindoor, which were inscribed on the National War Memorial and added to its Roll of Honour. The names include five Indian Army personnel – Subedar Major Pawan Kumar, Rifleman Sunil Kumar (VrC), Lance Naik Dinesh Kumar, Agniveer Mood Muralinaik and Havildar Sunil Kumar Singh – along with Indian Air Force Sergeant Surendra Kumar.
This was the Centre’s first official disclosure of the identities of soldiers killed in May 2025 during the four-day war with Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose called the development "extremely serious", asking how the defence minister could have told Parliament that no soldiers were harmed if six soldiers had been killed.
"Parliament deserves the truth. The families of our martyrs deserve the truth. India deserves the truth," Ghose wrote on X.
Congress leader Pawan Khera said that there could only be two possible explanations for the discrepancy. He accused the defence minister of either being unaware of the six soldiers who were killed when he addressed Parliament, raising questions about his own knowledge and understanding in terms of the ministry he heads, or he knew the facts and deliberately tried to conceal and withhold them.
"Whichever is true, some facts remain unchanged- our six brave soldiers made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. But their sacrifice was concealed. They were denied the honour and recognition they deserved. And their families were robbed of the transparency they had every right to expect," Khera wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
