New Delhi, 30 June

Congress leader KC Venugopal on Tuesday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla demanding that privilege proceedings be initiated against Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for “misleading” Parliament by saying that no Indian soldier was martyred post the Pahalgam terror attack last year.

In his letter to the Speaker, Venugopal gave a notice of privilege under Rule 223 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha against the defence minister for having “misled” the House.

Venugopal said that on 28 July 2025, during discussions on the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and the Operation Sindoor that followed, Rajnath Singh said that no harm was caused to the Indian soldiers.

Later, Venugopal said, a statement was issued that said six armed forces personnel had died during Operation Sindoor.

“The aforesaid position clearly indicates that the minister of defence stating on the floor of the House that there had been no casualties during Operation Sindoor was clearly misleading and incorrect.

“It is well established that misleading the House or withholding information by a minister on the floor of the House constitutes a breach of privilege and contempt of Parliament.

"In view of the foregoing, I request that privilege proceedings be initiated against the minister of defence in the matter,” Venugopal, who is the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, said.

In a post on X, Venugopal claimed that during the debate on Operation Sindoor in Lok Sabha, Singh lied to the people of India.

“It was a straightforward, clear-cut lie to mislead the House. How could he, in July 2025, say that no Indian soldier was martyred, and then a year later the forces announce that we have lost 6 jawans?" the Congress leader asked.

“It is a grave insult to the families of these six martyrs and the entire armed forces that the people of India were not told of their bravery and ultimate sacrifice.

“They died in service of our nation while defending it against our enemies, and the so-called nationalist government simply lied about their martyrdom,” Venugopal said.

The names of six military personnel – five from the Indian Army and one from the Indian Air Force – who died in the line of duty during Operation Sindoor last year, were recently inscribed on a wall at the National War Memorial as a tribute to the fallen heroes.

It was the first time since the military operation conducted by the Indian armed forces in May 2025 that the government released the names of these six personnel.

Amid the row surrounding the six martyrs, the defence ministry said the nation paid homage to them at the "earliest opportunity", and their memory shall always be honoured with the dignity and reverence it deserved.

The ministry also said that "certain posts circulating on social media" have sought to "misrepresent" the defence minister's address delivered on the floor of Parliament on 28 July last year.

These have "selectively quoted an isolated portion of the speech to falsely imply that the defence minister claimed that no Indian soldier lost his life during Operation Sindoor", it said, adding that these posts were "deliberately misleading and factually incorrect”.

Operation Sindoor was launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April 2025, which claimed 26 lives, mostly civilians.