BJP questions Rahul's LoP credentials after Army, IAF chiefs confirm free hand for Op Sindoor

New Delhi: In a blistering attack, BJP IT cell head and national spokesperson Amit Malviya on Sunday accused Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi of peddling "reckless lies" and echoing Pakistan's narrative. 

Malviya's remarks came in the wake of rare and unequivocal statements from Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi as well as IAF chief Amar Preet Singh, who confirmed that the armed forces were granted an "unambiguous free hand" during the operation, directly contradicting Gandhi’s claims.

In a post sharing a video on X, Malviya wrote, "India does not deserve a reckless, self-loathing man as Leader of Opposition. It is a pity that Rahul Gandhi, frothing with bile, chose the floor of Parliament to echo Pakistan’s narrative, a narrative now comprehensively demolished after both Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi confirmed the free hand given to our Armed Forces during #OperationSindoor."

The BJP leader’s attack is being seen as a damning indictment of Gandhi’s role in national discourse. 

"Rahul Gandhi embodies everything India does not need. People like him add nothing of value to public life. As for him in particular, history’s footnotes won’t even bother to mention his name," Malviya added.

India does not deserve a reckless, self-loathing man as Leader of Opposition. It is a pity that Rahul Gandhi, frothing with bile, chose the floor of Parliament to echo Pakistan’s narrative — a narrative now comprehensively demolished after both Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Army… pic.twitter.com/WDTX8KlbDS

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 10, 2025

The controversy stems from Gandhi’s parliamentary assertions that the armed forces were initially restricted from targeting Pakistani military installations, a claim supported by an earlier statement from Captain Shiv Kumar, India’s Defence Attaché in Indonesia. 

Kumar had suggested that these restrictions led to Indian aircraft losses on May 7, only after which the strategy was adjusted. 

This became a political weapon for the Opposition, with Gandhi and others accusing the Modi government of endangering soldiers by curtailing their operational freedom.

However, General Dwivedi’s timeline directly challenges this account. He stated that the free hand was granted immediately after the Pahalgam attack, on April 23, contradicting the notion that restrictions were only lifted after setbacks.

"That is what raises your morale. That is how it helped our army commander-in-chiefs to be on the ground and act as per their wisdom," Dwivedi noted.

Speaking at IIT Madras on August 4, General Dwivedi provided a detailed account of the events following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 civilian lives and sent shockwaves across the nation. "On the 23rd, the next day itself, we all sat down. This is the first time that RM (Defence Minister Rajnath Singh) said, ‘Enough is enough’," Dwivedi recounted. 

He emphasised the unprecedented political clarity and confidence that empowered the military leadership. "All three chiefs were very clear that something had to be done. The free hand was given saying ‘you decide what is to be done’. That is the kind of confidence, political direction and political clarity we saw for the first time," he said.

Air Marshal Singh’s remarks were more direct when he said, “If I can say, what were the reasons for success? One which I can think of is that there was political will. I'm being very, very candid here, very open here, because I hear various versions of it. I think if I, if I tell you something, people will have to believe because I was there, listening to everybody, attending every meeting.

There was very clear political will, very clear directions which were given to us, and there were no kind of restrictions which were put on it. Many people have spoken somewhere. Unfortunately, you know, everybody is speaking about it.So there have been talks about, was there any restriction? Were you kept constrained?

If there were any constraints, they were self made. We the forces decided what will be our rules of engagement. We the forces decided what will be the escalation ladder that we want to ride on. We decided how we want to control the escalation.

So I want to make it very clear, there were no, I repeat, no restrictions on us. Full freedom was given to us to plan and execute.”