US President Donald Trump’s unclear statement of killing five aircraft during Operation Sindoor has created political controversy in India. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi sought clarification from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 July 2025, while the BJP retaliated by accusing Rahul of “traitors”. Trump said during a private dinner with Republican MPs at the White House on Friday, “Five, four or five, but I think five aircraft were killed.” He did not say that these aircraft were from India or Pakistan. The statement was about Operation Sindoor, which was started on 22 April 2025 in response to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 people.
Rahul Gandhi questioned Trump’s statement and asked why the government did not show transparency in the matter. He had earlier also accused External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar of informing Pakistan at the beginning of the operation, which he described as a “crime”. BJP leader Amit Malviya said in response that Trump did not say which country the aircraft belonged to, yet Rahul accepted him of India. Malaviya asked, “Why is Rahul Gandhi’s sympathy with Pakistan?” Citing the success of Operation Sindoor, he said that the Indian Army entered Pakistan for 300 km and destroyed 11 airports and 9 terrorist bases, killing more than 150 terrorists.
The Government of India dismissed Trump’s claims, saying that India and Pakistan resolved the crisis with bilateral talks, and the US did not play any decisive role. Operation Sindoor began on the night of 7 May, in which the Indian Army attacked Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba bases. The Congress raised a controversy by calling this operation a “small war”, on which the BJP called it an insult to the army.
