Rahul Gandhi accuses PM Modi of silence as Trump repeats India-Pakistan ceasefire claim
New Delhi: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of being “scared” of US President Donald Trump and failing to refute his repeated claims of mediating peace between India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
Addressing a joint rally in Bihar’s Darbhanga constituency, Gandhi said, “Next time when Modi comes to Bihar, he must tell the people that the US President is lying about stopping the India-Pakistan conflict.” He alleged that Trump had “insulted” Modi by making the same claim repeatedly in various countries, most recently at the APEC summit in South Korea.
“Trump is insulting Modi in country after country. Latest is South Korea. Don’t be scared, Modi ji — find the courage to respond,” Gandhi said, highlighting Trump’s remarks that he had “used trade to frighten Modi into stopping Operation Sindoor.”
Trump, during his speech in Seoul, reiterated that he had threatened both India and Pakistan with trade restrictions and “200% tariffs” to halt their hostilities, claiming credit for preventing a potential “nuclear war.” He even remarked that seven planes had been shot down during the four-day conflict before the ceasefire.
Operation Sindoor was launched by India on May 7 against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, which killed 26 people. The ceasefire understanding was reached on May 10 after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations contacted his Indian counterpart.
India has consistently maintained that no third-party mediation was involved in the ceasefire process. The Ministry of External Affairs has clarified that the understanding was entirely bilateral, with no external interference.
This is not the first time Gandhi has challenged Modi to respond directly to Trump’s statements. During a parliamentary debate in July, he had demanded that the Prime Minister publicly state that “Donald Trump is lying.”
Despite Trump’s repeated assertions, Prime Minister Modi has avoided direct comments on the matter. India’s official stance remains firm that the truce with Pakistan was initiated through direct military communication, independent of any foreign mediation.
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Ex-PM Devegowda warns opposition of electoral losses if they continue to allege 'vote chori'
New Delhi (PTI): Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda on Monday said the Opposition parties would "suffer" if they continue to raise allegations of "vote chori" and create suspicion in the minds of voters by blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.
Participating in a discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, he criticised the Opposition for making a mockery about the Prime Minister "in the streets and on the public platform".
"This (India) is a very big country. A large country. Congress may be in three states. Remember my friends please, by using the words 'vote chori' you are going to suffer in the coming days. You are not going to win the battle," Devegowda said, referring to the Opposition members.
He asked what the Opposition is going to earn by "blaming Narendra Modi's leadership and creating a suspicion in the mind of the voters" through the claims of "vote chori".
"What has happened to their minds? Let them rectify," Devegowda said.
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The former prime minister said that during his over seven decades of public life, he has never raised such issues of vote theft despite facing defeat in elections.
He also cited a letter written by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru regarding inclusion of "18,000 votes" (voters) in Kerala.
"Why I am telling this (because) during the Nehru period also, there were certain lapses in the electoral system," said Devegowda, who was the prime minister between June 1, 1996 and April 21, 1997.
He said that the Congress party faced defeat in the recent Bihar elections despite raising the issues of mistakes in the electoral rolls.
"What happened after that even after so much review (of voters list). Think (for) yourself! You got six MLAs," the senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader said.
Devegowda questioned the Opposition as to why they want to make allegations against the prime minister on the issue of the voters list?
"Election Commission is there. Supreme Court is there. The Election Commission has given direction to all the state units to rectify all these things," he said.
Devegowda said people of the country have full confidence in Narendra Modi's government and it will come back to power after the next Lok Sabha elections as well.
K R Suresh Reddy, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party's Rajya Sabha member from Telangana, said that electoral reforms are the backbone for a healthy democracy.
He said a large and diverse nation like Indi needs clean electoral rolls.
Asserting that strict re-verification should not become a mechanism for exclusion, Reddy said no eligible voter should lose their right to vote simply because accessing paperwork is difficult.
He said while the concern definitely is on the voters' exclusion, "we should also be equally concerned about the percentage of voting."
"What is happening in voting today? Once the election ends, the drama begins. The biggest challenge that the Indian democracy has been facing in spite of two major Constitutional amendments has been the anti-defection. Anti-defection is the name of the game today, especially in smaller states, especially where the legislatures are small in number," Reddy said.
The senior BRS leader suggested creation of a parliamentary committee "which would constantly look into the defection" and "ways and means to cutting that".
AIADMK's M Thambidurai raised the issues related to election campaigning.
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"Election campaigns are one of the important election processes. In that, political parties must be given the proper chance to campaign," he said and cited problems faced by his party in Tamil Nadu in this regard.
Thambidurai said political parties were facing hardships in Tamil Nadu to conduct public meetings and to express their views to the public.
YSRCP's Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy stressed on bringing electoral reforms at both the state and national levels.
He also suggested replacing Electronic Voting Machines with paper ballots in all future elections.
"EVM may be efficient but can't be trusted. Paper ballot may not be efficient but can be trusted. You need trust in democracy," Reddy added.
