Mandla (Madhya Pradesh) [India], June 3 (ANI): Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday criticised External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar over his recent statement about 'Operation Sindoor', suggesting that the government may have informed Pakistan in advance about targeting terrorist camps.

Speaking to ANI, Singh said, 'S Jaishankar is a highly experienced diplomat. His father was a renowned figure and a respected defence analyst. But now, his own statement suggests that they informed them (Pakistan) in advance that they would be targeting terrorist camps. If you've already told the enemy that you're coming to attack, naturally, they will vacate the area. When you warn your enemy beforehand, they will obviously be prepared.'

Earlier, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, also raised questions regarding the operation. He shared a video on social media platform X, where Jaishankar is seen speaking to reporters following the inauguration of the Honduras Embassy in Delhi. Gandhi accused the government of serious lapses.

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi wrote, 'Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. 1. Who authorised it? 2. How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result?'

The Ministry of External Affairs, however, rebutted Gandhi's accusations against External Affairs Minister Jaishankar that the government 'informed Pakistan' before the start of 'Operation Sindoor.'

According to the XP Division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Jaishankar had said that India had warned Pakistan at an early phase after Operation Sindoor's commencement.

XP Division, MEA stated, 'EAM had stated that we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Op Sindoor's commencement. This is being falsely represented as being before the commencement. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out.'

Speaking to reporters on May 15, after the inauguration of the Honduras Embassy in Delhi, Jaishankar said, 'It is clear who wanted cessation of firing. We achieved the goals which we set out to do by destroying the terrorist infrastructure. Since key goals were achieved, I think we reasonably took the position, because even at the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan saying we are striking at terrorist infrastructure and not the military, and the military has an option to stand out and not interfere.'

'They chose not to take that good advice. Once they got badly hit on the morning of May 10. The satellite pictures show how much damage we did and what little damage they did. It is clear who wanted cessation of firing,' he added.

Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7, targeting nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).

India's military action came in response to the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, which claimed the lives of 26 people and injured several others. (ANI)