Modi must show courage to rebut Trump's claims: Rahul Gandhi
Gandhi cast doubts on defence minister Rajnath Singh's remarks about the Indian director general of military operation's communication with his Pakistani counterpart on May 7, challenged external affairs minister S Jaishankar's assertions on diplomacy, and hit out at the PM.
'This is a very dangerous time, and we can't afford a PM who lacks the courage to utilise the army the way it has to be used. We can't afford a PM who doesn't have the guts to say from here that Donald Trump is a liar, that he didn't stop India from fighting and is lying about the planes,' Gandhi said in the Lower House during a special discussion on Operation Sindoor
Gandhi alleged that Trump has stated '29 times' that he brought about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. 'If he is lying, the PM should say here that Trump is lying. If he has the courage of Indira Gandhi, let him say here, 'Trump, you are a liar, you did not make a ceasefire and we did not lose any planes',' Gandhi said.
Participating in the discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said Jaishankar's statement on China being a bigger economy in the context of bilateral tensions showed 'complete bankruptcy'
'He said they have a bigger economy and he said, are we going to fight China? This means he is scared. Don't allow India to be reduced to a battlefield where large powers are fused together. I want to tell Modi, the nation is above your image, politics and PR (public relations). Our forces are above your image, PR and politics. Have humility and dignity to understand and do not sacrifice our armed forces for your petty political gains,' Gandhi said.
Gandhi questioned India's diplomatic success and said, 'The man behind the Pahalgam attack was Munir (Pakistan army chief Asim Munir) and he was having lunch with the US President. PM Modi never asked, why did Trump have lunch with Munir? According to this government, they have deterred Pakistan. But the mastermind was having lunch with President Trump.'
Gandhi quoted Trump saying that he wanted to thank Munir for ending the war and said, 'Right now, General Munir, a US general and others are having a conference on tackling terror. I don't know which planet our external affairs minister is sitting on. Please come down.'
Gandhi also questioned the policy of the new normal of the Centre, which has said that an act of terror amounts to an act of war, and argued that any terrorist can start a wart by launching a terror attack in India. 'You have taken the entire idea of deterrence and turned it upside down. This government is clueless about deterrence,' he said.
India's biggest foreign policy challenge, Gandhi argued, was to keep Pakistan and China separate. He said that the Centre 'destroyed' the foreign policy as China and Pakistan got fused.
'The truth is: the government thought they were fighting against Pakistan. But they realised that the Pakistan air force was attached to the Chinese air force. The Chinese were feeding critical battlefield information and satellite information.'
Gandhi said Jaishankar's ideas about a two-front war were wrong. 'We are facing China and Pakistan fused as one militarily. It is dangerous for the PM to use forces to protect his image. Forces should be used for national interest. Fight properly and defeat Pakistan once and for all.'
The Congress leader also took on Rajnath Singh. He said that Indian armed forces' 'hands were tied' during Operation Sindoor as restrictions were imposed on what all they could attack. Gandhi pointed at recent statements made by captain Shiv Kumar, India's defence attache to Indonesia, and Lt. General Rahul R Singh.
'He (Rajnath) said the most shocking thing: We don't want escalation. The DGMO of India was told by the govt of India to agree to a ceasefire. You said, will not hit military targets. You told Pakistan your political will that you don't want to fight. The govt of India informed the govt of Pakistan that we have no political will. It amounts to immediate surrender in 30 minutes,' Gandhi said.
Gandhi raked up the issue of how many fighter jets India lost and blamed the political leadership for it, while supporting the armed forces and said India wouldn't have lost any plane if Modi had 50% of late PM Indira Gandhi's courage.
Gandhi compared the 1971 Bangladesh War with Operation Sindoor. 'Our soldiers are like tigers. But they have to be given full freedom. There must be political will and freedom of operation. If you want to use Indian armed forces, you should have political will and you have to give full freedom of operation. In 1971, there was political will. The US 7th fleet was coming to India. Then PM Indira Gandhi said, we have to do what we need to do in Bangladesh. The superpower of the world is coming with its aircraft carrier. But she had political will. Indira Gandhi gave full freedom to the armed forces. 1 lakh Pakistani soldiers surrendered and a new county was born.'
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