Congress leader Udit Raj has sparked a row after he said that the name of India’s recent military operation against terror hotbeds in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Operation Sindoor, has religious undertones, adding that a different name could have been chosen. “During discussions with intellectuals, it was pointed out that Sindoor is associated with a specific religion, and it would have been better if a different name had been chosen,” he told news agency IANS, before adding, “However, this is not very important. What matters is that Pakistan has been taught a lesson.” The name of the operation – “Sindoor” – draws inspiration from the red vermilion traditionally worn by Hindu women as a symbol of marriage and pays tribute to those who were killed in the heinous terrorist attack on April 22 in the Valley.

ALSO READ Operation Sindoor: LeT commander Hafiz Abdul Rauf and Pakistan army attend funeral for terrorists killed in Indian strikes Despite his disagreement over the name, he commended the Indian Armed Forces’ strikes against Pakistan. “Our Army has done the right thing. We are proud of our forces, and the attack on Pakistani terrorist hideouts and their stronghold is commendable.

This action is welcome,” he said. He also tagged Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif’s claim that Islamabad had shot down three Indian Rafale jets as “utter nonsense”. “I was watching proceedings of Pakistan’s Parliament, where Sharif was boasting that they shot down three Rafales.

This is utter nonsense. The Pakistan government is trying to raise its stature on the international level by making such false claims,” he said, before adding, “I believe they are lying about the casualties of the Indian Army as well.” ALSO READ Live on Operation Sindoor Operation Sindoor Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian government after the dastardly attack on tourists in Pahalgam that claimed the lives of 26 people, including one Nepali citizen. The operation, carried out by the Indian Armed Forces, targeted nine terror hotbeds in Pakistan.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) deployed Rafale, Su-30 MKI, and Mirage 2000 jets to carry out precision strikes on terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir without crossing LoC, according to government sources cited by CNBC-TV18. The Ministry of Defence, in a statement, said that the Operation Sindoor was a “measured” one and “non-escalatory” in nature. It added, “No Pakistani military activities have been targeted.

India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and the method of execution.”