NEW DELHI: Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday refused to apologise for his remarks on Operation Sindoor, saying the Constitution gives him the right to ask questions.“Why will I apologise? It is out of the question. The Constitution gives me the right to ask questions,” Chavan said when asked whether he would apologise for his remarks. This comes a day after Chavan stirred controversy by claiming that India was “completely defeated” on the first day of Operation Sindoor, while questioning the conduct of the military operation.Also read: Former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan questions need for large Indian military
Speaking to reporters in Pune, Chavan alleged that India suffered setbacks on the first day of the operation.“On the first day (of Operation Sindoor), we were completely defeated. In the half-hour aerial engagement that took place on the 7th, we were fully defeated, whether people accept it or not. Indian aircraft were shot down. The Air Force was completely grounded, and not a single aircraft flew. If any aircraft had taken off from Gwalior, Bathinda or Sirsa, there was a high probability of being shot down by Pakistan, which is why the Air Force was fully grounded,” Chavan said.The Congress leader further alleged that Operation Sindoor involved only aerial and missile warfare and saw no ground movement by the armed forces. “Recently, we saw during Operation Sindoor, there was not even a one-kilometre movement of the military… Whatever happened over two or three days was only an aerial war and missile warfare. In the future too, wars will be fought in the same way. In such a situation, do we really need to maintain an army of 12 lakh soldiers, or can we make they do some other work?” Chavan said.‘Insulting the army has become the hallmark of the Congress’Reacting strongly, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused the Congress of repeatedly disrespecting the Indian Armed Forces and undermining national security operations.Poonawalla said the statements made by the former Maharashtra chief minister were “shocking” and targeted the Air Force and the armed forces.”Insulting the army has become the hallmark of the Congress party… This is not just Prithviraj Chavan’s statement; Rahul Gandhi has also made similar statements,” Poonawalla said.All these statements reflect Rahul Gandhi’s mindset, which is why Rahul Gandhi or the Congress party does not take any action against such leaders… These statements reveal their anti-army mentality,” he added.Union minister Giriraj Singh also launched a broadside against Chavan and said that no one has the right to “insult the valour of the Armed Forces.””No one has the right to insult the valour of the Armed Forces. Those who do so can never think of the nation’s interest….It has become Congress’s habit to insult the Armed Forces,” Giriraj Singh said.Operation Sindoor was launched by India on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation was carried out in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 civilians were killed.