Last Updated:May 25, 2025, 13:49 IST

Alka Lamba mistakenly referred to ‘Operation Sindoor’ as ‘Operation Blue Star’ during a press conference on the Pahalgam terror attack. She later acknowledged the gaffe.

A file photo of All India Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba (PTI)

All India Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba faced embarrasment Sunday after she mistakenly termed ‘Operation Sindoor’ as ‘Operation Blue Star’, during a press briefing at the AICC Office in New Delhi.

The press conference was called to slam the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its MP Ram Chander Jangra’s controversial remark on the Pahalgam attack victims and survivors.

Addressing the briefing, Alka Lamba alleged the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party have lost respect for the Pahala attack survivors and attacks, in an attempt to take credit for ‘Operation Sindoor’.

The event also played a video of BJP MP Vijay Shah’s controversial remark against Colonel Sophiya Qureshi.

She also raked Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda’s remark that the Indian armed forces and the entire country bows down before Prime Minister Narendra Modi for launching ‘Operation Sindoor’ in response to Pakistan’s terror attack.

As Lamba continued to speak, Alka Lamba demanded a Parliamentary session and said, “Sessions of Parliament should be called and both the Houses of the Parliament should be briefed on ‘Operation Blue Star’ by the government.”

Later, she acknowledged her gaffe and, in an X post, said the BJP listened to her carefully and noted down every word.

“The issues I raised in my press conference today were so serious that the leaders of the “bad-tongued party” BJP not only listened to me carefully, but also noted down every word. I thank them for this,” Alka Lamba wrote in an X post in Hindi.

“If I say something other than Operation Sindoor once, the BJP makes an issue out of that mistake – as if they have found an excuse to divert attention from the real issues and bite me (mosquito),” she added.

BJP REACTS

Reacting to the presser by Alka Lamba, BJP’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla called it “mischief” and “slip of mindset”.

“This is not ignorance It is mischief and deliberate Not slip of tongue but slip of mindset Undermine our forces is Congress objective Alka Lamba does it after Kharge ji, Manjunath , Channi and others.. Op Bluestar?,” he asked in an X post, adding a self-recorded video.

During the briefing, Alka Lamba also alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi played politics with respect to the nation after one of his portraits showed him in an army officer’s uniform on an ‘Operation Sindoor’ banner.

She demanded action against the BJP leaders and ministers for their controversial remarks in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, and that the party leaders, including PM Modi, issue an apology to the country.

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