Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday triggered a political storm after claiming that India was “defeated on the first day” of Operation Sindoor and that Indian Air Force aircraft were shot down during the four-day conflict.
Addressing a press conference in Pune, Chavan alleged that the IAF was “completely grounded” because of the risk of being shot down by Pakistan, remarks that run contrary to the government’s public account of the operation and have drawn sharp attention amid renewed debate over the brief military confrontation.
‘IAF Was Fully Grounded,’ Says Chavan
Chavan said that during what he described as a half-hour aerial engagement on May 7, India suffered a decisive setback. “On the first day (of Operation Sindoor), 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,” he said.
Claiming that Indian aircraft were shot down, Chavan added that the Air Force did not operate from key bases due to the threat posed by Pakistan. “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 said.
Questions Raised Over Future of Warfare
The Congress leader also questioned the need to maintain large standing military forces, arguing that modern conflicts are increasingly fought from the air. “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,” Chavan said.
“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 them do some other work?” he added.
Chavan’s remarks come amid lingering controversy over claims that Indian fighter jets were shot down during Operation Sindoor, which surfaced following a statement attributed to a Defence Attaché. The Indian government has rejected reports related to a presentation made by the attaché at a seminar in Indonesia, saying the comments were “taken out of context” and “misrepresenting the intention and thrust” of the presentation.
Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed. Pakistan retaliated, leading to a military confrontation that lasted until May 10.
During the operation, India said it had killed more than 100 terrorists in just 23 minutes using Rafale fighter jets, SCALP missiles and HAMMER bombs, underscoring its account of a swift and decisive aerial response.
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