File photo: Rajnath Singh and KC Venugopal
NEW DELHI: The row over Rajnath Singh’s ‘no casualties’ statement on Operation Sindoor intensified on Tuesday, with Congress MP KC Venugopal writing to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, seeking privilege proceedings against the defence minister for “misleading” Parliament by saying that no Indian soldier died in the line of duty during the conflict with Pakistan in May last year.Venugopal gave a notice of privilege under Rule 223 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha against Singh.”On July 28, 2025, during the discussion on the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor, the Minister of Defence inter alia stated as follows,” the Alappuzha MP said in his letter before reproducing the minister’s statement in Hindi.He added that a statement issued recently named five Indian Army soldiers and one Indian Air Force personnel who were killed in action.”The aforementioned position clearly indicates that the Minister of Defence stating on the floor of the House that there had been no casualties during Operation Sindoor was clearly misleading and incorrect. It is well established that misleading the House or withholding information by a Minister on the Floor of the House constitutes a breach of privilege and contempt of the House,” Venugopal wrote. “In view of the foregoing, I request that privilege proceedings may be initiated against the Minister of Defence in the matter,” he added. Venugopal’s demand came days after the names of six military personnel were inscribed on a wall at the National War Memorial in Delhi in tribute to the fallen soldiers. It marked the first time the government publicly disclosed their identities.The ministry of defence later clarified that “certain posts circulating on social media” had sought to “misrepresent” Singh’s address.It stated that the posts had “selectively quoted an isolated portion of the speech to falsely imply that the defence minister claimed that no Indian soldier lost his life during Operation Sindoor.”The Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor on the intervening night of May 6 and 7, 2025, targeting terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, most of them civilians.The ensuing cross-border conflict ended on May 10 after Pakistan requested a ceasefire, which India accepted. However, the government has maintained that Operation Sindoor has only been paused.
