NEW DELHI - A prominent Indian politician has launched a scathing attack on the country's military establishment, accusing it of being reduced to a "political tool" of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi following yesterday's controversial Operation Sindoor anniversary press conference.
The politician, whose identity has been confirmed by multiple sources, questioned the timing and credibility of claims made by Indian military officials during the press briefing, specifically challenging why the military waited an entire year to announce that Pakistan had lost "13+ jets" during the May 2025 conflict.
"What is the point of saying Pakistan lost 13 jets after a year?" the politician asked. "Why wasn't this said last year?"
🇮🇳 Indian politician exposed Indian Armed Forces after yesterday's Operation Sindoor anniversary press conference.
- Zard si Gana (@ZardSi) May 8, 2026
He asked: what's the point of saying Pakistan lost 13+ jets after a year? Why wasn't this said last year?
He says Indian Army is a political tool of BJP and Modi. pic.twitter.com/pF40ZsmhvM
The criticism strikes at the heart of growing concerns within India that the country's once-proud, apolitical military institution has been systematically politicized under the Modi government.
During the press conference held on May 7, 2026, at the Headquarters of South Western Command in Jaipur, Indian Air Marshal AK Bharti and Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai presented what they described as the "hard facts" of Operation Sindoor, the military action launched in response to the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians .
According to the military officials, India's achievements during the four-day conflict included:
Destruction of 9 terrorist camps on May 7 alone
Strikes on 11 Pakistani airfields
Destruction of 13 Pakistani aircraft either on the ground or in the air
Elimination of over 100 terrorists
One high-value airborne asset destroyed at a record distance of over 300 kilometers
Air Chief Marshal AP Singh further claimed that Pakistan lost around 13 jets, including US-made F-16s and Chinese-origin JF-17s, to India's precision strikes .
However, the politician's core objection-and one echoed by many on Indian social media-is the timing of these revelations. If India had indeed inflicted such devastating losses on Pakistan, why were these claims not made immediately after the conflict, when international attention was focused on the region?
The politician did not mince words, directly accusing the military leadership of abandoning its apolitical tradition to serve the ruling party's political interests.
"The Indian Army has become a political tool of BJP and Modi," the politician declared.
This accusation is not without precedent. Critics have long argued that the Modi government has systematically sought to politicize the armed forces, using military achievements for electoral gains while suppressing information about setbacks.
The Operation Sindoor anniversary was marked by BJP celebrations across the country, including a large event at the party's Telangana state office in Nampally, Hyderabad, organized by the BJP Retired Army Cell .
Telangana BJP President N Ramchander Rao described Operation Sindoor as a "symbol of Indian bravery and a stern warning to forces supporting terrorism" . He further claimed that the operation was completed in just 22 minutes under the supervision of women officers, with no casualties on the Indian side .
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also released a video documentary at the South Western Command headquarters, which the government described as a detailed account of India's evolving counter-terror doctrine under Prime Minister Modi .
Adding to the controversy, Pakistan held its own press conference shortly after India's briefing, but drew attention for an unusual response. Pakistan Army spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry questioned why Indian military officials addressed the media in English .
"A little while ago, the Indian DGMO and senior officers did a press briefing. First of all, why are they speaking English? Is it because you want to tell the world what happened?" Chaudhary asked .
While Indian media mocked the response as "bizarre" , the politician's criticism cuts much deeper-challenging not the language of the briefing but its credibility and timing.
The politician's remarks have gone viral on social media, with many users echoing the same core question: Why did India wait a full year to announce these massive claims?
One user wrote: "If India really shot down 13 Pakistani jets, why wasn't this announced immediately after the war? Why wait for an anniversary press conference?"
Another commented: "The military is being used for political propaganda. Real victories don't need anniversary PR events."
A third user added: "First they hide losses, then they invent victories. The Indian public deserves the truth, not political theater."
Concerns about military politicization have been further fueled by the circulation of doctored videos following the press conference. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) issued a statement warning citizens about digitally manipulated videos falsely showing Air Marshal Bharti admitting that India lost fighter jets during the conflict .
In one doctored clip, Bharti was falsely shown saying: "A question which comes up time and again is why did we agree to stop? As you know, the DGMOs had a talk and then the political leadership took the decision under significant international pressure. About losses in the battle, yes, we lost few jets..."
The PIB clarified that Bharti made no such remarks. In the original video, he stated: "A question which comes up time and again is why did we agree to stop? I fully understand the angst of our people, especially the younger generation, given our experience with Pakistan. But allow me to clarify here. Our fight was with the terrorists and their support infrastructure, and that is what we hit, ensuring no collateral damage. We had achieved our objectives and our mission was complete" .
Despite the criticism, Indian military officials have stood by their claims. Air Marshal Bharti defended the decision to halt operations, stating that India's military objectives had been achieved before Pakistan requested cessation of hostilities .
"We stepped back, but we didn't blink. We had delivered the message, and the message was very clear - misadventure will not go unanswered, and acts of terror will carry consequences," Bharti said .
Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai added that Pakistan suffered heavy casualties during exchanges along the Line of Control, claiming that Pakistan lost more than 100 soldiers .
"At the end of the day, if Pakistanis were to make the same amount of investment in their battle-fighting ability as they do in the narrative, I think they would have fared much better," Ghai remarked .
The controversy highlights a growing divide in Indian society. On one side, the BJP and its supporters celebrate Operation Sindoor as a landmark military achievement, with party leaders describing it as comparable to the Kargil Vijay Diwas .
On the other side, critics-including the politician who spoke out-see the anniversary celebrations as a thinly veiled political campaign designed to boost the Modi government's image ahead of future elections.
The timing of the politician's criticism is significant. With the first anniversary of the May 2025 conflict serving as a natural moment for reflection, the decision to use it for political grandstanding has not gone unnoticed.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi used the anniversary to signal a potential openness to talks, stating that Islamabad was willing to engage in "meaningful" dialogue with India .
"Pakistan has never shied away from dialogue with India on any issue. We have repeatedly expressed our readiness for dialogue. However, it takes two to dialogue, and for it to be meaningful, it must be a dialogue and not a monologue," Andrabi said .
Whether India will respond to this overture remains unclear, but the political firestorm ignited by the anniversary press conference suggests that the battle over narratives-if not the battlefield-continues to rage.
The politician's pointed question-"Why wasn't this said last year?"-has struck a nerve. For a government that has built its reputation on projecting military strength, the decision to withhold claims of major battlefield successes for an entire year, only to unveil them at a politically convenient anniversary event, has raised uncomfortable questions.
As one social media user put it: "Real victories speak for themselves. They don't need anniversary PR campaigns."
The coming days will likely see intensified debate over the role of India's military in political discourse. But the politician's core accusation-that the Indian Army has become a "political tool of BJP and Modi"-is unlikely to fade from public discussion anytime soon.
The Indian public deserves transparency. The martyrs deserve honesty. And the truth-whatever it may be-deserves to be told without delay or political calculation.
