New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the opposition to stand united as the government briefed all parties on Thursday on ‘Operation Sindoor’, sources told one of media houses. The opposition parties were told about the valour of the armed forces as India struck terror camps deep inside Pakistan in one of the most expansive cross-border strikes. Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge represented the Congress, Sandip Bandyopadhyay from the Trinamool Congress and DMK’s TR Baalu attended the meeting.
While Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge represented the Congress, Sandip Bandyopadhyay from the Trinamool Congress and DMK’s TR Baalu attended the meeting.Other opposition leaders included Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Sanjay Singh of the AAP, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut, NCP (SP)’s Supriya Sule, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, and BJD’s Sasmit Patra.
In a departure from their stance after the 2019 Balakot airstrikes, the opposition this time were fulsome in their praise of the armed forces as they destroyed nine terrorist camps linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) on Wednesday.
The strikes, carried out by the Army and the Air Force, were in response to the attack in Pahalgam, carried out by Pakistan-based terrorists, which left 26 dead. The Centre directed all states to intensify surveillance of anti-national propaganda on social media and take swift action, sources said. The direction came amid a disinformation campaign by Pakistan after ‘Operation Sindoor’.
However, after the 2019 Balakot strikes, the Congress and 20 opposition parties released a joint statement slamming the government for politicisation of the sacrifices of the armed forces in Pulwama. The Balakot strikes, which targeted terror launchpads in PoK, were in response to the Pulwama attack that left over 40 soldiers dead. Then, Jaish-e-Mohammed took responsibility for the attack.