Rahul Gandhi Challenges PM Modi Over Trump’s Ceasefire Claims Amid Operation Sindoor Debate
In a charged intervention during Parliament’s special debate on Operation Sindoor, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi directly challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to publicly rebut former US President Donald Trump’s controversial claim that he had personally brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Gandhi, raising the matter with intensity, accused PM Modi of lacking the courage to call out Trump’s assertion, which has gained traction globally due to its diplomatic implications.
“Donald Trump has claimed 29 times that he was the one who stopped the war. If this is false, then the Prime Minister should say it is false.
If he has even half the courage that Indira Gandhi had, he should stand here in this House and say: ‘Trump is lying. We did not halt our operations because of any foreign pressure,” Gandhi asserted.
This statement comes just a day after PM Modi had unequivocally told the Lok Sabha that no global leader pressured India into halting military operations during Operation Sindoor, launched in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Modi categorically stated that it was Pakistan’s own Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) who had reached out, requesting a cessation of hostilities, after Indian strikes dealt significant damage in under 48 hours.
“The world witnessed India’s firm resolve. No one asked us to back down. We responded with strength—from Sindoor to Sindhu,” Modi had declared in Parliament, clearly portraying the strategic and diplomatic independence of the Indian state.
Despite this, Gandhi continued to frame the government’s actions as hesitant and under external pressure. He accused the Prime Minister of prioritising image management over national interest. “If the PM didn’t act under US pressure, then why not state it clearly on record, directly contradicting Trump’s claims?” Gandhi demanded.
He went further to allege that the Indian armed forces entered the conflict with “their hands tied,” referring to apparent operational constraints, such as avoiding military targets or air defence installations inside Pakistan.
“You told our pilots not to strike their air defences. You tied their hands and still expected them to fly combat missions. That’s why we lost aircraft,” he said, echoing remarks reportedly made by India’s Defence Attaché to Indonesia about aircraft losses.
Gandhi also criticised the government’s evolving national security doctrine, particularly its stance of treating all terrorist attacks as acts of war.
“That is a dangerous idea. You are essentially telling every terrorist that they can provoke a war between nuclear neighbours with a single act of violence. It’s reckless,” he said, accusing the leadership of misunderstanding deterrence theory and military escalation.
Aiming at the Defence Minister and External Affairs Minister, Gandhi contrasted Operation Sindoor with the 1971 war under Indira Gandhi, where, he said, full political backing was provided to the armed forces and foreign pressure was defied—especially in the face of the US Seventh Fleet.
“Indira Gandhi told General Manekshaw to take his time and win the war the right way. That’s political will,” he noted.
He also slammed External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for being “delusional” about India’s diplomatic standing.
Referring to Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir’s meetings with top American and Central Asian officials, Gandhi said, “The man behind Pahalgam is having lunch with the US President, and our PM stays silent? What world are we living in?”
Gandhi expressed concern over what he described as the “fusion” of China and Pakistan into a united military and diplomatic front, something he claims was a direct failure of India’s foreign policy doctrine that traditionally sought to keep the two powers apart.
“Now we are facing a one-front, multi-domain war threat, and the government doesn’t even understand the gravity,” he warned.
Reiterating his main charge, Gandhi said, “The Prime Minister must make it crystal clear that no external power, including Donald Trump, forced us to stop our operation. He must defend the sovereignty of our decision-making. Anything less sends the wrong signal to our enemies and allies alike.”
In essence, Rahul Gandhi’s pointed remarks aim to highlight what he views as a fundamental gap between the government’s public statements and global diplomatic narratives.
By urging PM Modi to directly reject Trump’s repeated claims, Gandhi is pressing for greater transparency and assertion of India’s sovereign authority in matters of war and peace.
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