NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led central government over its handling of foreign affairs in the wake of Operation Sindoor, accusing it of diplomatic failure and a compromised stance on national security.Congress leader Pawan Khera said, “The result of our failed foreign policy was seen post-Pahalgam, during Operation Sindoor. No country called Pakistan a terrorist state; this is the result of your failed foreign policy. Then you launched Operation Sindoor and no country gave a statement in your favour. Now, after Operation Sindoor, Kuwait has lifted visa restrictions on Pakistan. Iran, UAE, and Gulf countries are signing MoUs with Pakistan, and the most shocking thing is that yesterday, Russia signed an MoU with Pakistan to revive its very old steel mill, under which Pakistan will get $2.6 billion from Russia... This is the result of your failed foreign policy…”Meanwhile, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, part of an all-party delegation to Colombia, expressed disappointment over the Colombian government’s condolences for those killed in Pakistan after India’s May 7 counterstrike, saying, “There can be no equivalence between those who attack and those who defend.” He said India acted in self-defence following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. “We were only exercising our right of self-defence,” he added.Tharoor also highlighted Pakistan’s support for terrorists and showed images of uniformed Pakistani officials attending terrorist funerals. “That is the extent of complicity…,” he said, stressing India’s resolve through Operation Sindoor targeting terror bases in Pakistan and PoK. The opposition’s criticism comes amid a series of political confrontations following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public address in Gujarat, where he said Operation Sindoor was documented on camera to ensure “no one at home asks for proof.”Also read: ‘Iss baar camera ke samne kiya’: PM Modi takes ‘proof’ jibe at opposition; Congress hits backPM Modi declared, “Until now, what we used to call a proxy war, after the scenes witnessed post-May 6, we can no longer make the mistake of calling it a proxy war.” He added that the terrorists targeted in the strikes were given military honours in Pakistan, indicating direct state involvement.Responding to the Prime Minister’s remarks, Congress questioned why top terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar were not neutralised.“To date, we have not received an answer to that – What happened to the terrorists of Poonch, Ganderbal, Gulmarg and Pahalgam?… How did Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar escape?” asked Khera, further alleging that “this government has outsourced the entire politics, political discourse, foreign policy to trolls.”Earlier, Rahul Gandhi also accused the Centre of tipping off Pakistan before the strikes. Sharing an old video of external affairs minister S Jaishankar, Gandhi wrote on May 17, “Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it.”He followed up on May 27 with another post asking, “How many Indian aircraft did we lose because Pakistan knew?”The ministry of external affairs (MEA) denied Gandhi’s claims, calling them a “misrepresentation of facts.” The ministry clarified that Pakistan was warned “in the early phase after Operation Sindoor’s commencement,” not before the operation began.The controversy was further fuelled by US President Donald Trump’s comments, referenced by Congress, that he had mediated ceasefire talks between India and Pakistan. Khera described this as “a very dangerous comment,” and said, “sindoor ka sauda hota raha aur pradhan mantri chup rahe,” implying secret negotiations during the operation.Also read: Congress takes ‘sindoor ka sauda’ swipe at PM Modi, brings up Trump’s mediation claim
