New Delhi [India], May 30 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Friday slammed the former Manmohan Singh-led government, alleging that under pressure from the United States, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had decided to resume dialogue with Pakistan shortly after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
In a post shared on X, Dubey referred to the meeting between Manmohan Singh and Pakistan's then-Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in July 2009. This was the first formal engagement between the two countries after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Dubey questioned the timing of the meeting, saying, "Pakistan attacked Mumbai on 26 November 2008. 180 people died and 300 were injured, the fire of the pyre has not even cooled down. Was the dialogue started in December under US pressure without attacking Pakistan or not, is this the statement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Lok Sabha?"
The BJP leader alleged that the talks with Pakistan were not only premature but also influenced by external forces, especially the United States. He cited multiple instances from 2009 where Indian and Pakistani leaders engaged in diplomatic interactions.
"Did the Foreign Ministers' meeting take place in January 2009 or not? Did he meet Pakistan President Zardari in Russia in June 2009 with the mediation of a third country or not? In July 2009, under American pressure, did Sharmal Sheikh go to Egypt and reach an agreement with the Prime Minister of Pakistan or not?" he asked.
Referring to another major terror incident that occurred in 2011, Dubey said that such attacks highlighted Pakistan's continued support to terrorism, and criticised the Congress party's alleged "soft" approach. "In 2011, Mumbai blast happened again in which 26 people died and 200 people were injured. PM Modi raised our head high by doing Operation Sindoor, after years Pakistan is in a state of panic. Congress is completely hand in glove with terrorist Pakistan. The public can go to hell," he added.
In an earlier post on Wednesday, Dubey had also targeted Congress over an alleged nuclear deal with Pakistan in 1988 during the tenure of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. According to Dubey, the agreement was signed under "American pressure". He posted a purportedly declassified letter that he claimed was sent by former US President Ronald Reagan to Rajiv Gandhi, which outlined America's role in setting the agenda for India-Pakistan discussions.
"Why is Congress angry? When I saw this paper, I felt ashamed. US President Ronald Reagan sent this letter/telegram to the then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Under American pressure, we spoke to Pakistani President General Zia. The agenda for the talks was set by the US President. What we understood after this letter was that Pakistan and we did the nuclear deal in 1988 under American pressure," Dubey said in his post.
He further added, "Whatever we talked to our friend Soviet Russia about on the Afghanistan problem was an American agenda. Is this the Shimla Agreement? Is the Iron Lady the mentality of slavery? Were we a sovereign nation at that time? Is Congress abusing Modi Ji to make India stronger?"
Dubey, the Member of Parliament from Godda in Jharkhand, is part of a multi-party parliamentary delegation currently visiting West Asia and North Africa. The group, led by BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda, has already visited Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. The delegation is scheduled to arrive in Algeria on May 30 for the next leg of its official tour.