‘Sindoor to ujad gaya’: Jaya Bachchan questions name of Pahalgam’s counter strike operation

Jaya Bachchan began her speech by expressing her condolences to the families of the 26 innocents murdered in 22 April Pahalgam terror attack

Samajwadi Party MP and veteran actor Jaya Bachchan on Wednesday questioned the Centre’s narrative around the Pahalgam attack.

While speaking in Rajya Sabha, she began her speech by expressing her condolences to the families of the 26 innocents murdered in 22 April Pahalgam terror attack.

She questioned Operation Sindoor's name and asked why it was named so when the Pahalgam terror attack "destroyed the sindoor" of so many women.

"I would congratulate you on the writers you have hired. You give grand names. Why did you name it 'Sindoor'? Sindoor toh ujad gaya (sindoor was destroyed), the wives of those who were killed,” she told the treasury benches.

"It feels strange to say this because whatever happened ... it felt like something out of a book or a film ... people came like this, killed so many people, and yet nothing happened. It's really unreal,” she said.

Bachchan also accused the NDA government of “destroying the faith and trust of people".

"For us, Kashmir is like paradise. But what did they get from that paradise? You (Ruling Party) have destroyed the faith and trust of the people to whom you made those promises. The families of those people will never forgive you," she said. "I will not say anything technical or anything that could provoke a fight between Congress and BJP. I just want to say: Be humble. Be kind. Be protective of the people who gave you this position, who gave you this authority, with the hope that you would protect them,” she said.

What does BJP say?

"Just see their mindset. Jaya Bachchan ji, the terrorists destroyed sindoor, but sindoor is not just for embellishment; it is also a symbol of strength and capability. The name Operation Sindoor was chosen to send a message: you wipe off sindoor, we will destroy you. This was achieved," BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.

According to reports, Operation Sindoor, was a name chosen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the killers in Pahalgam rounded up Hindu men and shot them at close range in front of their wives and children.