Operation Sindoor: Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Saturday explained the details of the planning and execution of Operation Sindoor, revealing that the decision to take strong action was taken on April 23. During an address at IIT Madras, General Dwivedi emphasised that the central government gave a free hand to the armed forces on April 23, a day after the notorious Pahalgam terror attack.
He further stated that the political clarity raised the morale of the armed forces, adding that Operation Sindoor connected the whole nation. His remarks came after Chief Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh confirmed that the Indian forces shot down at least five Pakistani fighter jets and one large aircraft during the operation.
Political free hand given on April 23: Gen Dwivedi
General Dwivedi, while providing details, stated that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh decided to take strong action on April 23. “What happened on 22 April in Pahalgam shocked the nation. On the 23rd, the next day itself, we all sat down. This is the first time that RM (Defence Minister Rajnath Singh) said, “Enough is enough”. All three chiefs were very clear that something had to be done. The free hand was given, ‘you decide what is to be done,'” Gen Dwivedi stated.
‘Operation Sindoor united the whole nation’
Gen Dwivedi also revealed that the targets were selected on April 25, adding that the chief of armed forces met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 29.
“On the 25th, we visited the Northern Command, where we thought, planned, conceptualised and executed the seven targets out of the nine that were destroyed, and a lot of terrorists were killed. On April 29, we met the Prime Minister for the first time,” Gen Dwivedi stated.