Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], May 21 : Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Wednesday criticised the Central government for not being transparent on whether the Indian forces sustained any loss or casualties after the border tensions flared up following the Pahalgam terror attack.
He mentioned that "questions are being raised" about any loss to the Indian forces, saying that he has heard that Pakistan used cheap China-made drones while India responded with costly missiles.
"There are discussions that they (Pakistan) launched 5,000 China-made drones and the value of each drone was Rs 15,000. To destroy each drone worth Rs 15,000, we launched missiles worth Rs 15 lakh. This was a part of China's tactic, these are the discussions, however I don't know the truth," Wadettiwar said during a press conference.
He further alleged that India agreed to a cessation of hostilities only on the directions of the United States, but the people deserve to know whether any Rafale fighter jets were downed or not.
"Now questions are being raised about the damage done to us. You (Centre) shook hands on the directions of US, the Pakistani soldier we had was given back, now to ask questions regarding this what is so wrong with it in a democracy? That we should know how many casualties there are, how many soldiers are hurt, how many Rafales have been downed," the Congress leader mentioned.
Demanding that the Centre clarify that Operation Sindoor was beneficial for India while also being honest about any losses to our side, he said, "There are also discussions that our three-four Rafale jets were shot down, the government should give a clarification that there were no losses and that we benefited from this (Operation Sindoor), that this is the truth, we damaged Pakistan this much."
"After a battle, I don't think it is weakness to talk about this. This is the first time in India that after a war the party is taking out a victory rally, there are doubts in people's mind about this BJP government," he added.
In response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people 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. India responded effectively to subsequent Pakistani aggression and pounded its airbases.
On May 10, an understanding regarding the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced. India has said that the agreement on stopping military action was done bilaterally and Pakistan DGMO had reached out to his Indian counterpart.