Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], May 20 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nalin Kohli has hit out at Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for accusing External Affairs Minister Jaishankar of being silent on how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost during Operation Sindoor.

Speaking to ANI on Monday, Kohli termed Gandhi's remarks 'unfortunate and regrettable'.

He criticised the Congress party for repeatedly questioning the actions of the Indian armed forces and casting doubts on national security operations such as the surgical strike and Balakot.

'It is unfortunate and regrettable that Congress and its senior-most leadership, including Rahul Gandhi, have often chosen to disregard what our armed forces say and instead raise questions. They asked for proof and questioned the surgical strike. They questioned Balakot. Now they are raising questions on Operation Sindoor. It is for Congress and Rahul Gandhi to decide whom they have more faith in. Do they have faith in what the government of India says, or do they believe the words of what is said in Pakistan and ask the same questions to the government of India? It is really for them to explain which side they are on, who they are asking these questions for, and what purpose they hope to serve from it,' Nalin Kohli said.

Earlier on Monday, Lok Sabha LoP again questioned External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, accusing him of being silent on how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost during the operation and saying that the nation 'deserves the truth.'

'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,' Rahul Gandhi posted on X.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore endorsed his leader and said that the nation deserves the truth and Parliament deserves accountability.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi in his post on X, alleged wrongdoing by the government, stating: 'Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that the GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?'

Calling this statement an 'utter misrepresentation of facts,' the Ministry of External Affairs had said that the EAM had stated that the government warned Pakistan at 'the early phase after Operation Sindoor's commencement' and not before it.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 civilians dead. As part of the operation, Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, eliminating over 100 terrorists linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. (ANI)