‘Can’t Afford a PM Who Doesn’t Have Guts to Say Trump is Lying’: Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha

New Delhi: Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday (July 29) accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using the armed forces to protect his image and said that the nation is above his image, public relations (PR) and politics. Gandhi demanded that the prime minister show the courage to tell parliament that US President Donald Trump is a liar.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the special discussion on Operation Sindoor in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, Gandhi blamed the lack of political will for the loss of aircraft in the four-day long military conflict with Pakistan, in which he claimed that the arms of the armed forces were tied. 

Gandhi said that Pakistan and China have fused militarily while Modi did not have the courage to refute the ongoing claims made by Trump that he used trade as leverage to end the four-day long military conflict between India and Pakistan, and that some Indian jets were lost.

“It is a very dangerous time that we are seeing Chinese and Pakistani military fusion. We cannot afford a Prime Minister who does not have the courage to use the army the way it has to be used. We cannot afford a Prime Minister who does not have the guts to say that Donald Trump is lying, he did not stop India from fighting, he is lying about the planes,” said Gandhi.

The Congress leader said that while the discussion was on the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 civilians were killed on April 22, the speeches by the treasury benches and the ministers did not mention the victims of the attack. He said that Modi must put the nation above his own image.

“This entire discussion is about the people who died in Pahalgam. It is very disturbing to me that they (government) talked about everything, about Pakistan but did not mention the people who died in Pahalgam,” Gandhi said.

“Do not allow India to be reduced to a battlefield where large powers are fighting. We have to navigate and protect our interest. To the prime minister, the nation is above your image, above your politics and above your PR. The forces are above your image and PR and politics. Have the humility and dignity to understand that. And do not sacrifice the armed forces for your petty political interest,” he added.

Earlier on Monday, defence minister Rajnath Singh who opened the special discussion said that on May 7, India conducted targeted strikes that hit nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 22 minutes, following which the Indian DGMO called the Pakistani DGMO at 1:35 AM. Gandhi said that on the first night of Operation Sindoor itself the Indian government had announced its surrender to Pakistan.

“The DGMO of India was told by the Government of India to ask for a ceasefire at 1.35 AM on the night of Operation Sindoor itself. You told them you hit targets, you don't want escalation. This means you told Pakistan directly about the lack of your political will. And this the defence minister is saying in the House. The government of India informed the government of Pakistan we don't want to fight, we have just done this. Immediate surrender in 30 minutes,” he said.

While the government has not categorically enumerated the losses suffered during the conflict, the military leadership has said that “losses are a part of combat”. 

As speculation continues about Rafale jets being shot down, Gandhi referred to the Indian defence attaché to Indonesia, Captain (IN) Shiv Kumar’s admission in June when he said that political constraints led to the loss of IAF jets during Operation Sindoor.

“You went into Pakistan and you told our pilots not to attack their air defence. You tied their hands behind their back. And the defence minister had said this in parliament that we told Pakistanis we are not going to attack your military infrastructure. What will happen? We will lose aircraft. So, the point is aircraft were lost because of the constraints of political leadership to not attack the military and air defence infrastructure of Pakistanis,” he said.

Gandhi also referred to General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) statement that what’s important was “not that–not the jet being down, but why they were being down.”

“The Indian air force made no mistake. The mistake was made by the political leadership,” Gandhi said.

He also stated that the reason that the government did not want escalation was because “the goal of the exercise was to protect the prime minister’s image.”

“Because he has the blood of the people of Pahalgam on his hands, the goal of this exercise was to make sure that he used the air force to protect his image,” he said.

Moreover, Gandhi referred to Trump’s continued claims on mediating the ceasefire – as recently as Monday – and accused Modi of not having even half of former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s courage to correct the US President. 

On Monday, in line with the Union government’s stated position, Singh had said that India did not stop Operation Sindoor “under any pressure”. However, he also did not mention Trump. 

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in his statement yesterday said that there was no call between Modi and Trump between April 22 and June 17 and that while during the operation, India received calls from several countries in which it was made clear that “there will be no mediation”. 

On Tuesday, home minister Amit Shah too delivered an over an hour long speech but made no mention of Trump’s claims.

“Let the Prime Minister inform the House that, ‘Donald Trump, you are a liar, you did not make us cease fire and we did not lose any planes’. Let him say that if he has even 50% of Indira Gandhi's courage he will say this here,” Gandhi said.

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