Congress leader Udit Raj on Sunday questioned the timing of Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh's statements on Operation Sindoor, asking why they were made amid the ongoing "vote theft" row.
"This is definitely good news. But why is he saying this now when the matter of vote theft is coming up? When Pakistan's situation worsened, the BJP should have fulfilled its promise and taken PoK (Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir). Why was PoK not taken?", Udit Raj told ANI.
Congress MP Imran Masood also flagged it, alleging it might be aimed at "shifting the narrative" and diverting attention from allegations against the Election Commission.
Speaking to ANI, Masood said, "I don't understand the timing of the statement. Is this being said to shift the narrative and hide the allegations against the Election Commission? ... We have complete confidence in our army... Due to their courage and bravery, we ask: despite possessing enough courage to easily take PoK, why can't they accomplish this?"
On Saturday, Udit Raj gave similar remarks, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi betrayed the nation by not reclaiming PoK.
Speaking to ANI, the Congress leader said, "PM Modi betrayed the nation. I completely agree with (Air Chief Marshal) AP Singh's statement that we shot down five Pakistani planes; Pakistan's condition was bad, so we should not have declared a ceasefire on Trump's saying and should have taken PoK. When Pakistan had surrendered and its condition was bad, when you got the chance to take over PoK, why didn't you take it?"
"Trump said 33 times that he has done a ceasefire, but this country's PM didn't say it even once. So, all this is about elections and vote theft, which Rahul Gandhi has captured. But Modi ji betrayed the country, BJP betrayed it. There was a chance to take PoK, but the chance got missed," Udit Raj added.
This came after Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said that India took down at least five fighter jets of Pakistan during Operation Sindoor and downed one large aircraft, which was taken down at a distance of about 300 kilometres.
"We have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) aircraft or an AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft, which was taken on at a distance of about 300 kilometres. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about," he said.
With inputs from ANI
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