Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not naming former US President Donald Trump or China during his speech in Parliament on Operation Sindoor. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Gandhi said the Prime Minister avoided addressing China's involvement and did not directly deny Trump's past claims about mediating between India and Pakistan.
“He never said clearly that Trump was lying. In his entire speech, not once did he mention China. The whole nation knows China helped Pakistan in every way. But the Prime Minister and Defence Minister never named China anywhere in their speeches,” Gandhi said.
In his address during the Operation Sindoor debate, Prime Minister Modi said no world leader had asked India to stop the conflict with Pakistan. However, he did not name Trump, who had previously claimed to have defused tensions between India and Pakistan. Modi recalled that on the night of May 9, the US Vice President tried to contact him for nearly an hour. Modi said he was in a meeting with the armed forces at the time and later returned the call. “He told me Pakistan was planning a major attack. I replied that if Pakistan attempted such an act, it would pay a very heavy price,” the Prime Minister said.
The PM Modi's comments came after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi demanded that Modi publicly reject Trump's statements. Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi said, “Donald Trump has said 29 times that he stopped the war. If this is not true, the PM should say it clearly. Say Trump, you are a liar.”
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people. According to the government, the armed forces eliminated over 100 terrorists and handlers within 22 minutes during precision strikes on terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Trump has repeatedly claimed he helped mediate a ceasefire between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack. Recently, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also stated that Trump played a decisive role in calming tensions between India and Pakistan.