Congress speaks like Pakistan, again: Former Maha CM Prithviraj Chavan claims India was ‘defeated’ on day 1 of Operation Sindoor, Air Force was ‘completely grounded’

The Congress party, notorious for pushing petty political objectives ahead of the interests of the country has once again come under fire for displaying its perverse fondness for the terror state of Pakistan. Prithviraj Chavan, a senior Congress leader and former chief minister of Maharashtra, alleged that Indian planes were not only shot down during “Operation Sindoor” but the country was even beaten on the first day of the intense conflict.

“On the first day, 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,” he insisted with the conviction of an official spokesperson of the Islamic Republic.

Interestingly, a report from a United States Commission last month revealed the propaganda surrounding India’s loss of jets. It emphasised how China initiated a disinformation campaign to hinder the sale of French Rafale aircraft in favor of its own J-35s, utilising artificial intelligence to generate fake visuals of supposed debris from the aircraft.

Pakistan, which heavily relies on Chinese weaponry, has relentlessly perpetuated the same falsehoods since India dismantled its terror infrastructure. However, the Indian National Congress appears to be very eager to adopt its misleading narrative even if it proves detrimental to India.

Chavan then went further to question the justification for India to uphold large military 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,” he asked.

Chavan, in pursuit of his twisted political objective, did not hesitate to involve the Indian defense forces in the argument, reminiscent of Pakistan’s obnoxious claim of 700,000 troops in Kashmir. He similarly appeared to have an issue with the number of forces that India maintains for its safety and security.

“Why will I apologise? It is out of the question. The Constitution gives me the right to ask questions,” Chavan shamelessly retorted when he was asked to apologise after the controversy.

#WATCH | Pune | On his statement claiming India was defeated on day one of Operation Sindoor, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan says, "Why will I apologise? It is out of the question. The Constitution gives me the right to ask questions…" pic.twitter.com/Idnp7nL63M

— ANI (@ANI) December 17, 2025

The Congress party possesses a well-documented habit of using the Constitution as a shield after engaging in anti-India rhetoric. Chavan had earlier inquired if the government chose the name “Operation Sindoor” in order to achieve “sentimental benefits” in May.

Congress endorsed Pakistan’s decpetions during “Operation Sindoor”

Chavan is clearly not the first Congress leader to align with Pakistan’s sinister propaganda. Rahul Gandhi had already misrepresented External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s comments to bolster the adversar’s agenda during the operation.

Jaishankar indicated that Islamabad was notified regarding India’s actions shortly after their execution. The sequence of events verified by the PIB and nation’s defence authorities showed that the operation had already concluded by the time the message reached Islamabad. However, the Gandhi scion accused the union minister of a criminal act while Pawan Khera referred to it as mukhbiri (acting as an informant).

Revanth Reddy, the chief minister of Telangana, questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the number of Rafale fighter jets that Pakistan allegedly shot down. Manickam Tagore, a Congress Lok Sabha MP, repeated the same fallacies and added that ministers in parliamentary democracies had a duty to address national security matters rasied by the opposition.

Another parliamentarian and president of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee Congress, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, claimed to have pictures of the tail of a downed Rafale fighter and declared that it had been found at the Bhisiana Air Force station. These troubling remarks transpired even after it was firmly outlined that “all strikes were carried out without any loss of Indian assets, highlighting the efficiency of our surveillance, planning, and delivery systems.”

The party has sided with Islamabad, furthering their spurious narrative from the outset of “Operation Sindoor” and Chavan’s recent statements are yet another despicable illustration of this.

Congress consistently echoes the propaganda of Pakistan

New Delhi’s extensive military operation against Pakistan’s terror industry has exposed the Congress party’s alarming inclination to not only accept the fabrications propagated by the country over its own government and security forces but also to blatantly circulate them. Nevertheless, the unfortunate reality is that India’s hostile neighbor has consistently found an ally in the grand old party over the years.

The Congress, along with its former chief Rahul Gandhi, previously peddled conspiracy theories regarding the Pulwama attack and asked for the evidence of the Balakot airstrikes, mirroring the demands of Pakistan.

The party did not shy away from political maneuvering even regarding crucial matter of cross-border terrorism when Jaish-e-Mohammed supremo Muhammad Masood Azhar Alvi, also known as Masood Azhar was recognised as a global terrorist on the United Nations Sanctions List in 2019.

Afterward, Congress leaders and former chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath, chose the pivotal development to criticise PM Modi, emphasising his purported “friendship” with Pakistan’s then Prime Minister and further asserted that this action stemmed from the Modi government’s intention to sway that year’s general elections.

Digvijaya Singh, who is already infamous for his pro-Pakistan and anti-Hindu remarks, charged that Bajrang Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party were financed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Additionally, he compared Hindus to spies for Pakistan and argued that non-Muslims are more likely to be working for the ISI than Muslims.

However, Singh later complained that several channels were broadcasting “totally wrong” news regarding his utterances. The incident took place in 2019 after which cases were filed against him.

Congress even drew inspiration from Pakistan’s tactics, which frequently involve surrounding Indian embassies under the guise of protests. The Indian Overseas Congress declared in 2019 that it would hold protests outside Indian embassies worldwide in opposition to the Modi government’s management of the Indian economy and “India’s deteriorating condition.”

Conclusion

The aforementioned provides just an insight into the political ideology of Congress. The party leaders, including the now-suspended Mani Shankar Aiyar, have been extremely vocal about their affection for Pakistan. Meanwhile, Congress had persistently adopted a softer stance towards the nation and refrained from taking any decisive action, even following multiple terror attacks, including the horrific 26/11. Likewise, the current statements represent a continuation of the party’s position on Pakistan.

Furthermore, Congress often slyly distances itself from the leader or contends that the statement was made in a “personal capacity” if it cannot handle the backlash in the country. On the other hand, such statements are picked up by Pakistan and broadcasted internationally to attack India. The terror entity earlier employed Rahul Gandhi’s remarks to strengthen its arguments at the United Nations.

Similarly, these comments frequently feature in Pakistani media which leverages them to propagate its deceit and dishonesty as truth. However, Congress continues to reinforce the narratives of the Islamic Republic repeatedly, even during critical moments, fully aware of the implications. The party’s disdain for PM Modi has truly devolved into contempt for India for not voting it to power.