BrahMos proves continuity in governance, ‘can’t be erased despite ruling regime’s habit’, says Jairam Ramesh

At a time of heightened focus on India's defence arsenal as tensions between India and Pakistan escalated in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has drawn attention to the BrahMos cruise missile. BrahMos has come under the spotlight after reports that it was likely used during Operation Sindoor. In a long post on X, Jairam Ramesh said, contradictory to the habit of the current ruling establishment, ‘BrahMos is a remarkable proof of continuity in governance.’

“BrahMos is very much in the news these days. It is named after the Brahmaputra and the Moskva rivers and is an outstanding example of Indo-Russian collaboration. BrahMos is also yet another remarkable proof of continuity in governance which simply cannot be denied or erased - despite it being the regular habit of today's ruling establishment in New Delhi.”

Elaborating on the continuity in the government, Jairam Ramesh said, “India's Integrated Missile Development Programme began in 1983. It has had great successes. Sometime in the mid-90s, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and his colleagues like Dr. Sivathanu Pillai felt the need for collaboration with the Russians for supersonic cruise missiles.” Also Read | Operation Sindoor: Rajnath Singh launches BrahMos facility, did CM Yogi Adityanath confirm use?

“An inter-governmental agreement was signed on Feb 12, 1998 when IK Gujral was PM. Incidentally he was India's Ambassador to the USSR 1976-80. Thereafter the first contract was signed on July 9, 1999, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was PM. The first successful launch took place on June 12, 2001,” he said.

“The BrahMos HQ complex that includes design, simulation and aerospace knowledge facilities was inaugurated in New Delhi on Dec 4, 2004, by President Putin. Thereafter the missile was inducted into the Indian Navy in 2005 and Indian Army in 2007. The air-launched variant of BrahMos appeared in 2012. All this was when Dr. Manmohan Singh was PM. It was his leadership that led to the historic Indo-US nuclear agreement of 2005, paving the way for India finally joining the Missile Technology Control Regime eleven years later. It was also during his tenure that the BrahMos Integration Complex in Hyderabad and the Brahmos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited were established.”

About Operation Sindoor

Operation Sindoor was conducted on May 7 when India launched military strikes, hitting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). At least 100 terrorists were killed in Operation Sindoor. In the aftermath of Operation Sindoor – which was specifically launched to target terrorists – the Pakistani military carried out multiple drone strikes along Indian border areas, all of which were effectively countered by the Indian armed forces.