The Congress on Sunday cited the reported comments of India’s defence attache to Indonesia that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor and accused the government of having “misled” the country.
The party also asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “refusing” to preside over an all-party meeting to take the Opposition into confidence and why the demand for a special session of Parliament has been rejected.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X which quoted Captain (Indian Navy) Shiv Kumar, speaking at a seminar in Indonesia recently, that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025, during its targeting of terror-linked sites in Pakistan.
Referring to media reports, Ramesh said in his post on X, “First the Chief of Defence Staff makes important revelations in Singapore. Then a senior defence official follows up from Indonesia.”
“But why is the PM refusing to preside over an all-party meeting and take the Opposition into confidence? Why has the demand for a special session of Parliament been rejected?” he said. Citing the same media report, Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said the Modi government has “misled the nation from the start – failing to disclose the aircraft losses during Operation Sindoor”.
“There were oblique references to losses in air combat on 6/7 May, during a briefing by the DG Air Ops (Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti) when he said – ‘we are in a combat situation and losses are a part of combat’,” he said on X.
“Then, it was left to Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan to make the first official admission of our attrition in the air while speaking to Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore,” Khera said.
“And now, in another shocking revelation by Capt. Shiv Kumar, it has emerged that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025, during its targeting of Pakistan’s terror-linked sites ‘only because of the constraint given by the political leadership’,” the Congress leader said.
“This is a direct indictment of the Modi Government, particularly Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. No wonder they are ducking our demand for a Special Session of Parliament like the plague,” he alleged. They know they’ve compromised national security, and they’re terrified of what the Congress party will expose before the people of India, Khera claimed.
Indian Embassy reacts
The Indian embassy in Indonesia said it has seen media reports regarding “a presentation made by the Defence Attache at a seminar”. “His remarks have been quoted out of context and the media reports are a mis-representation of the intention and thrust of the presentation made by the speaker.
“The presentation conveyed that the Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership, unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood. It was also explained that the objective of Operation Sindoor was to target terrorist infrastructure and the Indian response was non-escalatory,” it said on X.
India’s defence attaché acknowledges loss of jets
After CDS Gen.Anil Chauhan, India’s Defence Attaché to Indonesia, Captain (Indian Navy) Shiv Kumar, had stated that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025, during Operation Sindoor- and that this happened “only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defenses.”
In his precise words, the veteran officer conceded, “I may not agree that we lost so many aircraft, but I do agree we did lose some aircraft.” However, slides presented during the seminar indicated that the Air Force lost three Rafale fighter jets, one Su-30MKI, and one MiG-29.
His statement, made during a 35-minute presentation to Indonesian defence academics and air force officers, confirmed what regional observers had suspected — that the IAF paid a real price during its risky cross-border strike targeting Pakistan’s terror-linked infrastructure. According to Captain Kumar, the IAF’s losses were not a result of technical inferiority or pilot incompetence but stemmed directly from political constraints imposed by India’s civilian leadership.
Sources familiar with the air battle confirm that the Modi government’s directives aimed to prevent escalation in a fragile nuclear dyad by restricting IAF strikes solely to non-military terror-linked sites. This directive, intended to send a political signal to Islamabad while managing escalation risks, left IAF strike packages flying perilously close to hostile airspace with their hands tied. Pakistan’s response, in contrast, was decisively opportunistic.
The comment was made during a seminar held on June 10 at Universitas Dirgantara Marsekal Suryadarma in Indonesia, where Captain Kumar was addressing air power strategies in the context of the India–Pakistan conflict.
This is the second senior military confirmation of aircraft losses during the initial phase of Operation Sindoor. Earlier, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, while speaking to Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, had offered the first official admission, stating that the focus should be not on the number of jets lost, but on the reasons behind the losses.
Prior to this, the only public acknowledgment had come in vague terms. During a May 8 briefing, Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti, Director General of Air Operations, had remarked: “We are in a combat situation and losses are a part of combat,” without detailing the extent or cause of the losses.
Military officials have since clarified that the rules of engagement during the initial May 7 strikes prevented the IAF from targeting Pakistani military installations or air defence systems. These constraints, intended to prevent escalation, left Indian jets vulnerable. After the losses, India revised its strategy and began targeting key military sites using long-range BrahMos missiles on May 10.
The political fallout of these admissions is escalating. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera issued a scathing statement, accusing the Modi government of deliberately concealing the truth.
Calling the situation a “direct indictment” of the Modi government and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in particular, Khera added, “No wonder they are ducking our demand for a Special Session of Parliament like the plague. They know they’ve compromised national security, and they’re terrified of what the Congress Party will expose before the people of India.”