New Delhi: Leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday (May 23) said that India’s foreign policy had “collapsed” after he shared a clip of external affairs minister S. Jaishankar’s interview to Dutch broadcaster NOS and asked him to explain why India has been hyphenated with Pakistan, why no other country backed India in condemning Pakistan and who asked US President Donald Trump to “mediate” a ceasefire.

In a statement on X, Gandhi shared a clip of the interview where Jaishankar was being asked to respond to Trump’s claims of having “mediated” the ceasefire between India and Pakistan announced on May 10, after four days of tense military conflict following Operation Sindoor. 

Since then, India has maintained that the cessation of hostilities between the two countries was decided “bilaterally” without making any direct references to Trump’s continued claims which have since included bringing back the two countries from brink of nuclear war and using trade as leverage to broker the ceasefire.

“Will JJ explain: Why has India been hyphenated with Pakistan? Why didn’t a single country back us in condemning Pakistan? Who asked Trump to “mediate” between India & Pakistan? India’s foreign policy has collapsed,” said Gandhi.

While Gandhi did not elaborate on what “JJ” stands for, Congress leaders have been referring to Jaishankar as "Jaichand Jaishankar" in a seeming reference to the poem 'Prithviraj Raso' in which Jaichand, a Rajput ruler, is said to be allied with Muhammad Ghori against another Rajput ruler, Prithviraj Chauhan.

Gandhi’s questions to Jaishankar come a day after he posed a series of questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on X. Gandhi shared a clip of Modi’s address to the nation on May 12 and wrote:

“Modiji, stop giving hollow speeches. Just tell me: Why did you believe Pakistan's statement on terrorism? 2. Why did you sacrifice India's interests by bowing to Trump? 3. Why does your blood boil only in front of cameras? You have compromised the honour of India!”

Earlier on May 17, Gandhi had said Jaishankar’s silence was “damning”. He had asked, “How many Indian aircraft did we lose because Pakistan knew? This wasn’t a lapse. It was a crime. And the nation deserves the truth.”

Gandhi had also shared a video in which Jaishankar was telling reporters that "at the start" of Operation Sindoor, a message was sent to Pakistan.

“At the start of the operation, we have sent a message to Pakistan saying we are striking at infrastructure and we are not striking at the military, so military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take good advice,” Jaishankar is heard saying in the video.

Meanwhile, on Friday, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia hit out at Gandhi while addressing a press conference in Delhi and called his statements damaging to the morale of the armed forces.

"When Operation Sindoor is going on, Rahul Gandhi is giving careless statements. He is asking how many IAF jets have been downed. On May 11, during a press briefing, Air Marshal Bharti said, 'We are in a combat scenario, it is not prudent for us to answer that question' Rahul Gandhi seems to be busy in conversations with Pakistan on how to weaken India and the morale of the forces. He does not take this into account and asks how many jets have been lost,” said Bhatia.

“Today, a senior leader of Pakistan, Mariam Nawaz, gave a statement that on the night of May 6 and 7, and on May 9, Pakistan had to face a huge loss because of India's action. Pakistan is itself accepting that our armed forces destroyed nine terrorist pads and 11 air bases. At such a time, what is leader of opposition and 'Nishan E Pakistan' Rahul Gandhi saying?” he asked.

He added that Gandhi must decide which side he wants to be on: “The whole country is asking Rahul Gandhi, that you may disagree with the Prime Minister which is permitted in a democracy. But using derogatory statements against him, and your statements and Congress’ statements being used to defame India by Pakistan is worrisome. Rahul Gandhi must decide which side he is on. Are you the Indian leader of opposition or Pakistan’s Nishan-e-Pakistan?”

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