'Insult to the valour of Indian Army': BJP slams Kharge's 'small war' remark on Operation Sindoor

NEW DELHI: BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over his recent remarks on Operation Sindoor , calling his description of it as a “small war” not only condemnable but "an insult to the valour of Indian Army ."

Taking a dig at the opposition alliance, Trivedi said, "... INDIA gathbandhan naam rakh lene se koi dil se Indian nahi ho jata."

He added, "Calling Operation Sindoor a small incident is not only condemnable but also an insult to the valour of the Indian Army and the sentiments of 140 crore Indians. Even before this, Rahul Gandhi has said many baseless things about Indian planes and other things..."

Trivedi alleged that Kharge’s and Rahul Gandhi's remarks were part of a larger trend. "After the statements of first Rahul Gandhi and now Mallikarjun Kharge, one thing has become very clear: the statements coming from the leaders of their (INDIA) alliance for the last few days are not spontaneous statements but a series of well-thought-out, anti-India and ideologically nourished statements."

"Therefore, we definitely consider this statement condemnable. We also believe this is part of a well-planned conspiracy by the Congress party and the INDI alliance," he said.

On Tuesday, Kharge had triggered row by referring to India’s military response under Operation Sindoor as a "small war." He also criticised the Modi government for failing to clarify US President Donald Trump's earlier remarks suggesting American mediation between India and Pakistan.

Kharge said, "It has not provided clarity to the people of the country regarding US President Trump's statements."

He also blamed the central government for failing to ensure adequate security in Kashmir.

"26 people were killed in Pahalgam because the Modi government did not provide security there. The Centre did not provide police security or forces to tourists. Modi did not say anything about this. There were people going to Kashmir on the 17th, but Modi did not go to Kashmir, because his intelligence security told him not to go, as there would be chaos in Kashmir."

"The Prime Minister was supposed to go to Kashmir on the 17th, but his intelligence agency had told him not to go and had cancelled his visit to Kashmir... If the same had been said to the tourists through the police, 26 lives would have been saved. What is happening now... This small war would not have happened," Kharge said.