PM using armed forces to protect his image: Rahul
In a no-holds-barred attack, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using the armed forces to protect his image after the Pahalgam attack and dared him to categorically rebut US President Donald Trump’s India-Pakistan ceasefire claims.
“If Modi ji has even 50 per cent of the courage that Indira Gandhi had, then clearly he must say in Parliament — Donald Trump is lying,” he said.
Participating in a special discussion on “India’s strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam”, Gandhi also said that if the government had listened to his statement in the Lok Sabha a few months ago on China and Pakistan fusing together, “you would not have lost those five planes” during Operation Sindoor.
Gandhi claimed that Modi government lacked political will in carrying out Operation Sindoor and that it had “tied the hands” of the armed forces, not letting them have operational freedom which he said was a must in such situations.
Speaking with reporters after the debate ended, Gandhi said, “Narendra Modi did not clearly say that Trump is lying. Trump has said 29 times that he brought about a ceasefire, but Narendra Modi did not respond to it.” Speaking in the Lower House, Gandhi claimed the government revealed sensitive details about Operation Sindoor to Pakistan soon after it was launched.
Gandhi said this government is clueless about what deterrence and political will means, and gave Indira Gandhi’s example when Pakistan was broken into two parts in 1971.
He said India needs a prime minister who frees the Army, Air Force and Navy and tells them — ‘Go, finish the job”, much like what Indira Gandhi did.
“If Modi ji has even 50 per cent of the courage that Indira Gandhi had, then clearly he must say in Parliament – Donald Trump is lying!” he said.
‘No world leader told India to stop Op Sindoor’
NEW DELHI, JUL 29 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Tuesday that no world leader had told India to stop Operation Sindoor as he lashed out at the Congress for “importing issues from Pakistan” and said the opposition party is joining terrorists and their masterminds in shedding tears after the victorious Indian military action.
Responding to the two-day debate on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor in the Lower House, he said no country in the world stopped India from taking action in its defence against terrorism.
The comments by the prime minister come amid repeated questions by the Opposition about why US President Donald Trump announced the “ceasefire” between India and Pakistan.
Modi told the House that on May 9th night, “US Vice President (JD Vance) tried to reach out to me 3-4 times, but I was busy with meetings with the armed forces”.
“When I returned the call, the US Vice President warned me of a big attack from Pakistan. I told him that if Pakistan attacks India, our attack would be much bigger as we will respond to bullets with cannons,” he said.
Modi asserted that no leader of any country asked India to stop the operation.
The prime minister said Pakistani airbases hit by India “are still in ICU” and the masterminds of the April 22 terror attack continue to have sleepless nights.
“No country in the world has stopped India from any action in its defence against terrorism. Only three countries spoke in favour of Pakistan at the UN.
“India got support from the entire world, but it is unfortunate that the Congress did not support the valour of our soldiers. Congress leaders targeted me for political gains, but their frivolous statements ended up discouraging our brave soldiers,” he said.
PM Modi noted that India called out Pakistan’s nuclear bluff and showed the world that “we will not bow down to nuclear blackmail”.
Modi noted that Pakistan had some inkling of Indian action and had started issuing nuclear threats, but could do nothing when terror targets were hit.
“I stand here to make a case for India, and to show a mirror to those who do not understand this. I had said that we will teach the terrorists and their masters a befitting lesson which will be beyond their imagination.
“We have complete trust in the capabilities of our armed forces and they were given a free hand to respond. The armed forces taught them such a lesson that the masters of terrorism are still losing their sleep over it,” he added.