Indian Opposition Demands Defence Minister’s Resignation Over 2025 Conflict Deaths

India’s opposition party, Congress, has demanded the resignation of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accusing him of “lying” to parliament about the deaths of Indian soldiers during a military conflict with Pakistan in May 2025, according to Indian media reports.

The controversy follows the Indian government’s disclosure on June 26 of the names of six armed forces personnel who died during the conflict, which New Delhi had dubbed “Operation Sindoor.” The names were published on the Roll of Honour on the National War Memorial website, marking the first official acknowledgement of military casualties from the engagement.

In a press conference, representatives from the Congress’s Ex-servicemen Department, Col. (retd) Rohit Chaudhry and Wing Commander (retd) Anuma Acharya, criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for concealing the deaths for 13 months. Chaudhry accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using “soldiers as props” and stated, “The foundation of the Modi government is built on lies. They have no right to remain in power.” The party also demanded an apology from the prime minister.

Separately, parliament member K.C. Venugopal has sought to initiate privilege proceedings against the defence minister for allegedly misleading the Lok Sabha. The six deceased personnel included five from the army and one from the air force. A privilege motion can be moved by a member who alleges that a minister has breached parliamentary privilege by misleading the house or withholding information.

“This amounts to completely misleading Parliament. That is why I have moved a privilege motion against Rajnath Singh ji before the Speaker of the House,” Venugopal was quoted as saying. He confirmed in a post that he had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla regarding the matter.