Congress seeks Prime Minister’s clarification over U.S. claims of mediation

Congress person Ashok Gehlot addresses a enactment briefing astatine enactment office, 24 Akbar Road, successful New Delhi connected Tuesday. | Photo Credit: ANI

The Congress connected Tuesday (May 13, 2025) claimed the Narendra Modi authorities had mislaid “moral authority” aft U.S. President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire betwixt India and Pakistan.

Addressing a property league astatine the All India Congress Committee (AICC) office, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said India mislaid a “golden opportunity” successful teaching Pakistan a acquisition for sponsoring coercion arsenic a authorities policy.

Mr. Gehlot claimed citizens felt that the Indian equipped forces were going beardown and could person fixed a befitting acquisition to Pakistan to guarantee that it did not harbour terrorists and their camps successful future.

“The mode successful which the ceasefire was announced, this authorities has mislaid the motivation authorization and motivation courageousness to rule,” Mr. Gehlot said, adding, “This was a aureate accidental for himself, the authorities and the state but it has been mislaid by the abrupt announcement of a ceasefire”.

The erstwhile Rajasthan Chief Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s code to the nation connected Monday evening was “disappointing” arsenic helium did not clarify connected Mr. Trump’s claims of mediation.

“What unit is the authorities nether that the U.S. intervened and claimed mediation,” Mr. Gehlot asked arsenic helium posed respective questions connected wherefore the Prime Minister was not responding to claims of the U.S. President since the U.S. has internationalised the issue.

The Congress seasoned reiterated his party’s request for a Special Session of Parliament to sermon the contented and a PM-chaired all-party meeting, wherever the authorities tin spell retired its thoughts and argumentation successful the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.

Differing opinion

However, determination were differing opinions connected the contented of third-party mediation. “Third Party Mediation betwixt India and Pakistan is simply a world going backmost to 1990, telephone it by immoderate sanction backmost channelling, brokering, mediating, arbitrating, etc.,” Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari said successful a station connected X, adding that from 1947 to 1972, India-Pakistan relations “or deficiency of them whenever they reached a flashpoint were undergirded by UNSC resolutions, 1972-1990 the Shimla Agreement, 1990 onwards Third Party Intervention by immoderate nomenclature you are astir comfy with”.

“U.S. President Donald Trump is conscionable stating the facts arsenic they are,” Mr. Tewari added.

However, the Congress’s authoritative presumption connected the issue, articulated by some Mr. Gehlot and connection main Jairam Ramesh, question the authorities connected the contented of the U.S. role.

Pointing retired that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had spent maximum clip with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and was the archetypal to conscionable him, Mr. Ramesh, successful a station connected X, said, “The usually unquiet Minister’s soundlessness connected what Mr. Rubio has said connected U.S. mediation and connected a ‘neutral site’ for India-Pakistan talks is precise deafening”.

In a abstracted post, Mr. Ramesh besides asked if the Modi authorities would behaviour a Kargil Review Committee-type workout to probe the Pahalgam panic attack. “Three days aft the Kargil War ended, the Vajpayee authorities acceptable up the Kargil Review Committee connected July 29, 1999. Its study was tabled successful Parliament connected February 23, 2000, though sections of it person remained classified — arsenic so they must,” Mr. Ramesh said, adding, “Will the Modi authorities present behaviour a akin workout connected Pahalgam, notwithstanding the NIA (National Investigation Agency) probe?”

Published - May 13, 2025 09:59 p.m. IST