Rafale Controversy Erupts: Ex-Fighter Pilot Demands Modi Come Clean on Indian Air Force Losses

Defence affairs - D.S.A

N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Telangana’s Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies and a Congress Party leader, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration of concealing critical information regarding alleged combat losses involving the IAF’s most advanced fighters.

“We welcome the safe return of Indian Air Force pilots after successfully completing their missions,” Reddy said during a press conference in New Delhi.

“However, the central government must clarify the reports that our fighter jet has been downed.”

“The government should also reveal how many Pakistani fighter jets were shot down,” he added, casting doubt over the Modi-led BJP government’s narrative on the ongoing conflict.

Reddy, who remains a vocal critic of Modi’s BJP, accused the ruling party of politicising legitimate defence concerns by branding Congress Party leaders “unpatriotic” whenever questions are raised.

“If our leader Rahul Gandhi had made the same statement, the BJP leaders would have launched a massive campaign against him.”

“Democratic accountability is crucial in this operation. It should not be linked to patriotism.”

“Will they question the patriotism of CDS Anil Chauhan? No one is more patriotic than the Gandhi family,” he argued.

Reddy also took aim at Modi’s silence regarding controversial remarks made by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who publicly spoke of an India-Pakistan ceasefire before it was officially announced by the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both nations.

Reddy’s remarks came shortly after a bombshell interview with Bloomberg in Singapore, in which India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, acknowledged for the first time that the IAF had indeed suffered aircraft losses in the recent Pakistan-India confrontation.

Although General Chauhan did not specify the number of aircraft lost, he confirmed the incident, stating, “The key issue is not whether the aircraft was downed, but why it went down.”