Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], August 1 : West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee President Subhankar Sarkar criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for staying silent on US President Donald Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Sarkar wonders why Modi hasn't responded strongly, especially with Trump now imposing a 25% tariff plus penalty on India. He drew parallels with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, suggesting she would have given Trump a fitting response.
Speaking to ANI, Subhankar Sarkar said on Thursday, "...Why is Prime Minister Modi silent when US President Donald Trump claimed that he brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and has now imposed a 25% tariff along with a penalty on India? Indira Gandhi would have given him a befitting reply..."
Meanwhile, earlier Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri clarified that the ceasefire was a bilateral decision made through military hotlines, initiated by Pakistan's side, with no third-party involvement.
India maintains that it doesn't accept third-party mediation in its dealings with Pakistan.
On Tuesday, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha, stated that he still had not "categorically repudiated" US President Donald Trump's assertions of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
While speaking to ANI, Chidambaram emphasised that it would have been better if the government had categorically stated that Trump had no role whatsoever.
"It was a 22-minute war, but it was a 2-hour 22-minute speech. He has not categorically repudiated President Trump's assertions. I wish the government had categorically stated that President Trump had no role in it whatsoever. That would end the matter... We just wanted to know if they were home-grown terrorists or had they come from across the border. Both these classes of terrorists have the support of Pakistan..." the Congress MP said.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Akhilesh Yadav criticised PM Modi's speech, saying that no one could defeat the BJP in words.
Speaking to the media, Yadav, signalling to China, claimed that the BJP cannot see the bigger threat standing behind Pakistan, which is snatching away India's markets and encroaching on its borders.
"BJP ko baaton mein koi nahi hara sakta. If the BJP doesn't see a threat standing behind Pakistan, then who can show them that? A country that is snatching away our market, which is encroaching on our borders...BJP should at least tell us if India's area has increased or decreased between 2014 and today. All of us want our borders to be peaceful and secure," the Samajwadi Party Chief said.