NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday renewed attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the ceasefire agreement with Pakistan after Operation Sindoor, claiming that he ‘surrendered’ after the orders of US president Donald Trump.
Targeting PM Modi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, said, “Trump gave a sign from there. He (Trump) picked up his phone and said, ‘Modiji, what are you doing? Narendra … Surrender.’ And PM Modi complied,” Rahul Gandhi said while addressing a gathering in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal.Further, he also targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party, and its ideological parent, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), saying that they “surrender” whenever put under the slightest pressure. “I am well aware of the BJP and RSS people. Apply a little pressure on them, give them a slight push, and they run away in fear,” Gandhi said.Rahul Gandhi also hailed former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s leadership during the 1971 war, saying that India broke Pakistan in 1971 despite the threat of America. “You might remember a time when there wasn’t a phone call, but the Seventh Fleet came during the ’71 war, weapons arrived, an aircraft carrier came, and Indira Gandhi said she would do what she needed to do. That’s the difference; it’s their character. All of them are like this. Since the time of independence, they have had the habit of writing surrender letters. With just a little pressure, they give in. This is their character. The Congress Party does not surrender. Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Patel were not people who surrendered; they were fighters against superpowers.”Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 as a military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, which claimed 26 lives. Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of over 100 terrorists affiliated with groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.Following India’s strike, Pakistan retaliated with shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir, along with attempted drone attacks along the border. After Pakistan’s incursion, India escalated its response, targeting and destroying key Pakistani military and air infrastructure, including the Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi and the Rahim Yar Khan airbase. Both countries reached an understanding to end hostilities on May 10.While US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for brokering the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, asserting that his administration’s trade negotiations potentially averted a nuclear war between the two nations. However, India has repeatedly refuted the claims made by the US president, reiterating its policy that India and Pakistan bilaterally address any matter related to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
