Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 17 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Spokesperson CR Keshavan on Saturday criticised Karnataka Congress MLA Kothur Manjunath for his reported remarks questioning the authenticity of Operation Sindoor, calling an attempt to "defame, discredit and deplorably attack" the Indian armed forces.
"Many statements of Congress leaders reflect their anti-armed forces mindset... Through his obnoxious and foul-mouthed statement, Congress MLA Manjunath tried to defame, discredit and deplorably attack the armed forces. He has the audacity to question the authenticity and the legitimacy of Operation Sindoor," CR Keshavan said.
Keshavan called Manjunath's remark "unpatriotic" and "anti-national."
"His deplorable comments are not just unpatriotic, they are anti-national... But what better do you expect from Congress?" he added.
Further targeting Congress, Kesavan said that they have a "history of mocking the armed forces."
"Do you expect the Congress party to condemn Manjunath? No, because they have a history of mocking the armed forces... How the Congress Party has failed to stand by the nation and our armed forces will never be forgotten nor forgiven," he said.
Meanwhile, the controversy stems from recent comments by Congress MLA Kothur Manjunath, who raised doubts over military action under Operation Sindoor suggesting that it did not deliever.
Following the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, including a Nepali national, were killed, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, in which precision strikes destroyed terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoK) and eliminated nearly 100 terror operatives at key bases in Pakistan.
Among the targets were Bhawalpur, the headquarters of Jaish, and Muridke, a key training base of Lashkar.
After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and airfields across 11 airbases in Pakistan.
Following the operation, on May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced.