Prateek Tanmay
3 min readNew DelhiJul 1, 2026 05:00 AM IST
Senior Congress leader K C Venugopal on Tuesday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla demanding that privilege proceedings be initiated against Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for “misleading” Parliament by claiming that no Indian soldier was martyred post the Pahalgam terror attack last year.
Venugopal gave the notice of privilege under Rule 223 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha.
In his letter to the Speaker, Venugopal said that on July 28, 2025, during discussions on the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and the Operation Sindoor that followed, Rajnath Singh said that no harm was caused to the Indian soldiers.
Venugopal said that later a statement was issued that said six armed forces personnel had died during Operation Sindoor.
“The aforesaid position clearly indicates that the minister of defence stating on the floor of the House that there had been no casualties during Operation Sindoor was clearly misleading and incorrect,” said the Congress MP in his letter.
“It is well established that misleading the House or withholding information by a minister on the floor of the House constitutes a breach of privilege and contempt of Parliament,” he added.
“In view of the foregoing, I request that privilege proceedings be initiated against the minister of defence in the matter,” Venugopal wrote in the letter.
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Posting a copy of the letter on X, Venugopal claimed that during the debate on Operation Sindoor in Lok Sabha, Singh “lied” to the people of India. “It was a straightforward, clear-cut lie to mislead the House. How could he, in July 2025, say that no Indian soldier was martyred, and then a year later the forces announce that we have lost 6 jawans?” wrote the Congress leader.
“It is a grave insult to the families of these six martyrs and the entire armed forces that the people of India were not told of their bravery and ultimate sacrifice,” he said.
“They died in service of our nation while defending it against our enemies, and the so-called nationalist government simply lied about their martyrdom,” Venugopal said.
