Criticising senior Congress leadership, including Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, for frequent queries on the number of Rafale jets destroyed during Operation Sindoor, BJP MP Sambit Patra on Friday wondered why the grand old party’s commanders were not asking Pakistan about the damage it suffered.

Patra, while addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi, questioned Rahul Gandhi, Revanth Reddy, and Jairam Ramesh on not raising any question on how many air bases of the enemy country were destroyed, or terrorists killed.

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Patra, who has been one of the national spokespersons of the BJP before becoming an MP, said currently there are two factions in the Congress, one supporting Pakistan and the other wanting to raise its voice against them but cannot do so because of Rahul Gandhi.

“Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, and Revanth Reddy are asking how many Rafales were shot down. ‘Yeh jo Pakistan ke Babbar hain, woh Hindustan ke Gabbar hain’. Rahul Gandhi did not ask how many Pakistani air bases were destroyed, how many terrorists were killed; rather, he only asked how many Indian planes were shot down,” he said.

Taking a jab at the grand old party, he said, “Today, there are two factions in Congress – one supports Pakistan while the other wants to raise a voice for the country but is unable to do so because of you (Congress leadership). Your ‘Jai Hind Yatra’ looks like ‘Pakistan’s Hind Yatra’ and you should stop this yatra and hold a joint press conference with Pakistan.”

Attacking Jairam Ramesh for his remarks on the multi-party delegation, he said he (the Congress leader) “equated terrorists with MPs”.

The BJP leader asserted that the MPs did not go on a tour; they are travelling across countries to put forth India’s viewpoint on terrorism in front of the whole world. “Jairam Ramesh, who is the right-hand of the Gandhi family, gives a statement, saying terrorists are roaming around, MPs are also roaming around. You have equated terrorists with MPs. MPs did not go on a tour, they went to strongly present India’s point of view on Pakistan’s indulgence in terror activities in the world, and your MPs are also a part of these delegations”, Patra added.

Accusing the erstwhile UPA government of inviting terrorists to the Prime Minister Office (PMO), he said, “There was a time when terrorists were called to the PMO. We should also remember the day when Sonia ji cried after seeing the bodies of terrorists. The Indian Army destroyed nine terrorist hideouts. Satellite pictures were shown. DGMO presented all the facts.”

On Thursday, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge attended the all-party meeting and extended their full support to the Centre and made it clear that India should fight against Pakistan to merge the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir with India.

Reddy said he had already declared full support for splitting Pakistan into two countries. He objected to India agreeing to the ceasefire at the behest of US President Donald Trump. “Pakistan has downed Rafale fighter jets, which were brought by PM Modi, when asked how many were downed? There’s no discussion. PM Modi, who purchased fighter jets from another country, should answer how many Rafale jets have been destroyed by Pakistan,” said Reddy.

The Telangana chief minister appealed to Congress leaders and workers to strive hard and not relax until Rahul Gandhi becomes prime minister.