New Delhi, June 24, 2026
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Congress and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over remarks related to Rafale fighter aircraft allegedly being shot down by Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, accusing the opposition party of promoting a narrative that was contrary to India’s position and national interests.
The BJP cited a June 2026 Indian Air Force tender for interim “bridge support” covering all 36 Rafale fighter jets in service with the IAF as evidence against claims made by Pakistan regarding the destruction of multiple Indian Rafale aircraft during the military confrontation linked to Operation Sindoor in May 2025.
Addressing the issue, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the latest development had effectively disproved the allegations circulated by Pakistan and echoed by sections of the opposition.
“Rahul Gandhi and Pakistan’s propaganda have been demolished by the Indian Air Force. The recent tender that has been issued for the support package has been done for all 36 Rafales. So it is clear that the narrative that Pakistan and Congress were peddling about Rafales being shot down is completely bogus,” Poonawalla said.
Operation Sindoor was launched by India as a retaliatory military response against targets in Pakistan following the terror attack in Pahalgam.
The operation led to a brief but intense period of military escalation between the two countries, during which both sides issued competing claims regarding aircraft losses and battlefield outcomes before a ceasefire was reached.
Referring to the controversy surrounding the operation, the BJP alleged that questions raised by Rahul Gandhi and Congress leaders regarding Rafale losses had mirrored claims being made by Pakistan and had contributed to what the party described as a misleading narrative.
According to the BJP, reports regarding the Indian Air Force’s support package for the entire fleet of 36 Rafale aircraft indicate that no aircraft were lost, thereby contradicting Pakistan’s assertions during and after the conflict.
Poonawalla further accused the Congress of lending credibility to Pakistan’s version of events and questioned the opposition’s repeated criticism of the government’s handling of national security matters.
“Pakistan has been given a befitting response in Operation Sindoor, but they tried to create a fake narrative by saying jets were down. And the problem is that Pakistan was finding support in the Congress Party. The Congress Party today has become not the Indian National Congress, but the Islamabad National Congress. It has become ANC, Anti-National Congress,” he said.
Escalating his criticism, the BJP spokesperson alleged that Rahul Gandhi had repeatedly propagated claims that were later disproved and accused him of attempting to undermine the credibility of India’s armed forces and national institutions.
“Rahul Gandhi locked up this propaganda and was peddling this lie. Today, he has been completely exposed. He is in a foreign land.
Again, he’ll pick up some propaganda saying that the Indian Armed Forces got beaten up and the Supreme Court chastises him; he said that there was corruption in the Rafale deal, the Supreme Court chastised him; he said that Operation Sindoor was a failure, saying surgical strike was ‘Khoon ki Dalali’,” Poonawalla said.
He further claimed that Rahul Gandhi had consistently taken positions that, according to the BJP, weakened India’s stance on matters related to national security and military operations.
“Time and again, Rahul Gandhi has stood on the side of Pakistan and has undermined India’s Armed Forces only because they have a problem with the BJP. This shows that Rahul Gandhi thinks LoP is leader of propaganda and he has shown that Congress is Anti-National Congress, not Indian National Congress,” the BJP spokesperson added.(Agency)
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