BJP leans in as cracks within Congress on Operation Sindoor show

“It seemed in the early stages that the Congress was being careful this time, unlike in 2019 (after the Pulwama terror attack). But its leadership has slipped, leaving it open to political attacks. In these moments of national crisis, the Opposition should stand with the national mood, and wait for a better time and issue to attack the government – something the Congress again failed to do,” a BJP leader said on the condition of anonymity.

In his speeches since the ceasefire, PM Modi has largely confined himself to how Pakistan had been defeated. His only mention of the Congress was at a speech in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on May 27, when he claimed that had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel not been thwarted in 1947-48 when there was an invasion into Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan Occupied Kashmir would have been with India. In the same speech, Modi said in a swipe at the Opposition that every bit of the operation was captured on camera this time, “taaki hamare ghar mein koi saboot na maange (so that no one at home demands proof)”.

In other speeches, Modi has used expressions such as “hot sindoor running through my veins” and warned Pakistan that his “bullet was ready” in case of any mischief. The reference to 1947-48 marks a gradual increase of stridency since May 12, when in his first address to the nation following the ceasefire, Modi struck a conciliatory note, saying, “After this terrorist attack, the entire nation, every citizen, every community, every class, every political party, unitedly stood up for strong action against terrorism.”

The targeting of the Opposition has largely been left to other BJP leaders, who have pulled no punches against the Congress since it raised questions over the ceasefire, given US President Donald Trump’s claims regarding it. The war of words has only intensified since Rahul Gandhi, who had till then largely kept quiet on Operation Sindoor, decided to go after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, claiming that his statement suggested India had informed Pakistan “before” it struck its terror bases. Gandhi wanted to know how many Indian aircraft were “lost” because Pakistan was expecting an attack.

Congress spokespersons took their cues from this, repeating the claims, with Jaishankar even being dubbed a “mukhbir (informer)”. The MEA said Jaishankar’s remarks were being “misinterpreted” by the Congress.

The BJP asked whether the Congress was “with the government” on terrorism, as it said it was, or helping Pakistan by talking of planes being downed. “When it is clear that Operation Sindoor is still on, no specific iteration of the word ‘ceasefire’ has been used… during the course of the operation, if you raise questions, this creates a doubt on your intentions,” BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said.

Sambit Patra accused Gandhi of “giving oxygen” to Pakistan, and claimed that Hafiz Saeed, the Lashkar-e-Taiba founder, had once praised the Congress leader. “Now we all know why.”

The best opening to the BJP has been provided by the Congress’s Shashi Tharoor problem. Having made it known that the government picked the names of the delegations against its consent, the Congress has been barely able to conceal its exasperation over Tharoor’s articulate exposition of the Modi government’s anti-terror stand. Its own spokespersons have gone so far as to suggest that Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, is fit to be the BJP’s “super spokesperson”.

Turning the knife in, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said: “What does the Congress party want & how much do they really care for the country? Should the Indian MPs go to foreign nations and speak against India and its Prime Minister? There’s a limit to political desperation!”