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Invoking the 1971 war, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said there was such “political will” at that time that it led to the creation of a new country – Bangladesh in this – altogether
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi reacts amid PM Narendra Modi’s speech at the monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi on July 29. (Image: Sansad TV/PTI)
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday stressed on two issues during the ‘Operation Sindoor’ debate in Lok Sabha – “political will and freedom of operation” – both of which he said were lacking in the central government’s actions against Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Invoking late prime minister Indira Gandhi’s actions during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, Gandhi said he wants to remind Defence Minister Rajnath Singh that there was such “political will” at that time that it led to the creation of a new country – Bangladesh in this case – altogether.
“A tiger has to be given freedom. You cannot control a tiger if you need your work done. There are two words – political will and freedom of operation. So if you want to use Indian armed forces, the first thing you will need is 100 percent political will and then you will need full freedom of operation as well,” Gandhi said during the ongoing monsoon session in Parliament.
He sharply criticised the Centre’s military response to the Pahalgam attack, raising questions about Singh’s statements on the floor of the House.
“Rajnath Singh said Operation Sindoor began at 1.05 am and that by 1.35 am, India had already called Pakistan to inform them that we had hit non-military targets and that we did not want escalation,” he said. “These are not my words. These are the words of India’s defence minister.”
Gandhi further accused the government of undermining the morale and effectiveness of the armed forces by imposing limitations.
“If you want to use the Indian armed forces, you must have 100 per cent political will. You must give them full freedom of operation,” he said.
WHAT RAHUL GANDHI SAID
On Rajnath Singh’s Statements On Op Sindoor
“…There are two words – ‘Political Will’ and ‘Freedom of Operation’. If you want to utilise Indian Armed Forces, you need to have 100% political will and full freedom of operation. Yesterday, Rajnath Singh compared 1971 and Sindoor. I would like to remind him that there was political will in 1971. Seventh Fleet was approaching India through the Indian Ocean. The then PM said we will have to do whatever we have to Bangladesh, come wherever you have to…Indira Gandhi told General Manekshaw take 6 months, 1 year, whatever time you need because you should have freedom of action, of manoeuvre. 1 lakh Pakistani soldiers surrendered and a new country as formed.”
“…You told the Pakistanis exactly what to do. Imagine, two people are fighting and one hits the other and then says – see I hit you and now do not escalate. So you showed to Pakistan that there is no political will. India showed immediate surrender in 30 minutes. He (Rajnath Singh) also said he told the Pakistanis that we are not going to hit any military infrastructure.”
“I want to tell CDS General Chauhan, you made no mistake. It was the political leadership that tied the military’s hands.”
On Trump and His ‘Ceasefire’ Claims
“…Trump has said 29 times that he brought forth the ceasefire. Fine, why does the PM not have the courage – like that of Indira Gandhi – to say Trump is a liar. Say that you did not make a ceasefire…even if he has 50 percent of Indira Gandhi, he will say it.”
On ‘New Normal’
“There is a new term: new normal. EAM (S Jaishankar) is not here but he uses the term. He has said several times that all countries have condemned terrorism. That is 100 percent correct but he did not say that after Pahalgam no country condemned Pakistan. Not a single country did that. This means that the world is equating us with Pakistan. At the time of UPA, this did not happen.”
On Asim Munir-Donald Trump Lunch
“The man behind Pahalgam is Munir who is having lunch with Trump. He is sitting there and our PM is not going there. PM has not said anything: should say how dare Munir was invited to the White House. Trump said he wanted to thank Munir. Which planet is the foreign minister sitting on?”
“The Foreign Minister says we’ve deterred Pakistan but Pakistan’s Army Chief is having lunch with Trump…what will you do when the next attack happens? Attack Pakistan again? Now they know all you have to do is attack and then we will respond. This government is clueless about what deterrence means.”
On Pakistan-China Collaboration, Foreign Policy Challenge
“India’s biggest foreign policy challenge was keeping China and Pakistan apart. I’d warned them about it but this government brought them together.”
“Let me tell you what that means. The Government of India thought they were fighting Pakistan, but they realised they were fighting China.”
“How did this integration between China and Pakistan take place? There was this centre built in Pakistan with Chinese help, which was aimed at integrating the Pakistani Air Force with the Chinese.”
On Opposition Unity
“Even before Operation Sindoor began, the opposition committed itself that we will stand like a rock with the forces and with the elected government of India. We heard the odd jibe and sarcastic remarks from their leaders but we said absolutely nothing. This was agreed upon by all leaders of the INDIA bloc. We are proud that we stood united as we should have.”
“A brutal attack, heartless attack organised and orchestrated clearly by the Pakistani State. Young people, old people were murdered in cold blood, mercilessly. We have, together – every single person in this House, condemned Pakistan.”
Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing impactful st…Read More
Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing impactful st… Read More
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