Congress leader P Chidambaram's remarks questioning the origin of the terrorists behind the Pahalgam attack sparked a fierce political row ahead of the debate in Parliament on Operation Sindoor.
The former home minister, in an interview with a media platform, said the government has not made public any evidence that the attackers were from Pakistan and suggested that they could be 'homegrown'.
His comments provoked a sharp response from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Chidambaram also accused the government of concealing the losses suffered during Operation Sindoor and questioned its reluctance to share investigation details.
"Losses are inevitable in war. Why hide them?" he asked, pointing out that even during World War II, Winston Churchill made frequent public disclosures.
The BJP reacted swiftly, accusing Congress of giving Pakistan a 'clean chit.'
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya posted a clip of the interview on X, calling Chidambaram a repeat offender for 'sounding like Islamabad's defence lawyer.'
Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla echoed the charge, saying, 'Congress ka haath, Pakistan ke saath.'
In response, Chidambaram slammed what he called selective outrage.
'The worst kind of troll is one who suppresses a full interview and uses two sentences to paint the speaker black,' he posted on X.
His son and Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram also defended him, urging critics to watch the full interview.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said the attackers were Pakistani nationals affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, based on disclosures by two local men arrested in Kashmir.
However, the agency has withheld the names, citing security protocols.
The controversy has intensified just as Parliament begins its two-day debate on the attack, Operation Sindoor, and the ceasefire that followed.