New Delhi [India], July 28 : Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Monday targeted government over US President Donald Trump's repeated claims that he brokered the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor and asked if Islamabad was ready to kneel down, "why did you stop, and to whom did you surrender?"
Participating in the debate on 'India's strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor in response to terrorist attack in Pahalgam' in Lok Sabha, Gogoi slammed the government for stopping Operation Sindoor after Pakistan capitulated and asked why did it not go further and reclaim the territory illegally occupied by the neighbouring country.
"The entire country, and the Opposition, were supporting PM Modi. Suddenly, on 10th May, we got to know that there had been a ceasefire. Why? We wanted to know from PM Modi that if Pakistan was ready to kneel down, then why did you stop, and to whom did you surrender? The US President has said this 26 times that he forced India and Pakistan to announce a ceasefire," Gogoi said.
The government has stated that there was no mediation and the cessation of hostilities with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor took place after Pakistan's DGMO contacted his Indian counterpart.
BJP has in the past slammed Congress leaders over their "surrender" jibe at the govrenment.
Gogoi said Home Minister Amit Shah should take responsibility for Pahalgam terror attack, and "cannot hide behind" the Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha.
He accused government of being "weak" and 'cowardly" for saying that the tour operators were responsible for taking people to Baisaran without their permission or license.
"In the end, who takes the responsibility of the Pahalgam attack? The LG of Jammu and Kashmir. If someone needs to take the responsibility, it is the Union Home Minister. Union HM and the Central Govt cannot hide behind the LG... The government is so weak and cowardly that it said that the Tour Operators are responsible for taking people to Baisaran without their permission or license," he said.
The Congress leader also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that he did not go to Pahalgam after returning from Saudi Arabia, but went to Bihar and gave an "election speech".
"PM Modi came back from Saudi Arabia, but he did not visit Pahalgam. He attended a govt program and addressed a political rally in Bihar. If someone went to Pahalgam, it was our leader Rahul Gandhi...", Gogoi said.
Gogoi spoke immediately after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who initiated the debate.
"It has been 100 days since the Pahalgam attack took place, but this Govt has not been able to catch those five terrorists... Today, you have drones, Pegasus, satellites, CRPF, BSF, CISF and the Defence Minister went there a few days ago, but still you are not able to catch them... It took almost one hour for an Ambulance to reach Baisaran, where the attack took place. The army came on foot. I cannot forget those visuals when a mother and her daughter saw an Indian soldier; they started crying. They thought the terrorist wearing the uniform of a soldier who killed people in Baisaran was waiting for them. That soldier had to say that he was an Indian, and you were safe... This is the kind of terror the people had there," Gogoi said.
The Congress leader asked Rajnath Singh about the number of fighter jets India lost in the conflict with Pakistan, saying that soldiers should also get a true picture.
"We want to know from Rajnath Singh ji today how many of our fighter jets were downed. We have to tell this not just to the public but also to our jawans, as they are being lied to as well," he said.
He also asked Rajnath Singh how terrorists came from Pakistan and carried out the terrorist attack.
"Rajnath Singh ji gave a lot of information, but as Defence Minister, he never mentioned how terrorists from Pakistan reached Pahalgam and killed 26 people..It is our duty to ask questions in the interest of the nation," Gogoi said.
Gogoi also slammed the government over Pakistan getting aid from IMF. HE referred to remarks of CDS Gen Anil Chauhan's remarks about losses during a conflcit and the importance of outcomes. He also referred to remarks of Lt Gen Rahul Singh that China used conflict between India and Pakistan as "live lab". Gogoi said BJP talks of showing "laal aankh" to China but Rajnath Singh did not mention China even once in his speech.
In his speech, Rajnath Singh took a swipe at the Opposition during discussion on Operation Sindoor in Lok Sabha, stating that focus must not remain on small issues when aiming to achieve a higher feat, since it can divert attention from national security."When the aim is to go higher, we should not pay attention to small issues because focusing on issues that remain comparatively small can divert attention from national security," Singh said.
He said that questions being asked by opposition do not reflect the national sentiments correctly.
"It is the job of the ruling side to work while keeping in mind the interests of the people, and the opposition's job is to question the government on issues concerning the public...There have been instances where the opposition has inquired about the number of our planes that fell. I don't think this question by the opposition correctly represents our national sentiment. They never asked us a single time how many planes of the enemy were destroyed by our armed forces," Singh added.
India carried out Operation Sindoor in response to Pahalgam terror attack and carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoJK. India repelled subsequent Pakstani aggression and pounded its airbases.