‘EAM Jaishankar’s Remarks Taken Out Of Context’: Foreign Secy Misri Responds To Congress’ Charge

Last Updated:May 19, 2025, 18:05 IST

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday briefed the members of the Standing Committee on External Affairs on Operation Sindoor and its achievements.

Jaishankar’s remarks taken out of context, Misri tells committee members (PTI Image)

Amid the ongoing controversy over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Dr S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday told members of the Standing Committee on External Affairs that the EAM’s statements on Operation Sindoor were “taken out of context”, according to sources.

The Foreign Secretary briefed the attendees of the meeting about Operation Sindoor and its success. During the meeting, according to sources, one of the members raised the matter of Rahul Gandhi’s tweet on Jaishnkar’s clip of his media statement on Operation Sindoor, in which the Lok Sabha LoP alleged that the Government of India informed Pakistan about India’s retaliatory strikes before the actual strike took place.

In response, the Foreign Secretary told the members that Jaishankar’s statements were “taken out of context”.

“The fact is that India had informed Pakistan about the precise strikes after the initial phase of its commencement,” Misri is learnt to have told the attendees of the meeting.

Rahul Gandhi Attacks Jaishankar

As the sequence of events goes, Jaishankar spoke to the media last week and said, “At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan, saying we are striking at terrorist infrastructure and we are not striking at the military. So the military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice.”

Sharing his video on X, Rahul Gandhi alleged that informing Pakistan “at the start of our attack was a crime”.

“EAM has publicly admitted that GOI (government of India) did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result,” the Congress leader asked.

Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi launched another attack on the EAM and said that his “silence” on the questions is “damning”.

“EAM Jaishankar’s silence isn’t just telling — it’s damning. So I’ll ask again: How many Indian aircraft did we lose because Pakistan knew? This wasn’t a lapse. It was a crime. And the nation deserves the truth.” he posted on X.

BJP Quotes Air Force Official To Counter Rahul Gandhi’s Charge

In response, the BJP shared the video of a joint press briefing by the top officials of the Indian armed forces and said that the same question was asked by a journalist, and Air Marshal AK Bharti had said that revealing such details “could give an advantage to the adversary”.

“We are in a combat scenario, and losses are a part of it. The question is: have we achieved our objective? The answer is a thumping yes. As for the details, I would not like to comment at this time, as we are still in combat, and revealing such information could give an advantage to the adversary. All our pilots are back home,” Air Marshal Bharti had said.

BJP leader Amit Malviya attacked Rahul Gandhi, stating that his persistence to asking about the number of Indian jets downed during the Operation, which is currently on a pause, is serving Pakistan’s narrative.

“Pakistan—and those who supply weapons to it—would be delighted by Rahul Gandhi’s dogged persistence in serving their narrative,” Malviya said.

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