New Delhi [India], July 30 : Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera on Wednesday slammed Centre after US President Donald Trump's repeated claims that he mediated between India and Pakistan to broker a ceasefire, despite India's denial of any US involvement.
This comes hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated in Parliament that no world leader had asked India to stop Operation Sindoor, Trump again claimed credit for mediating between the two nations.
In a post on X, Khera compared Trump to a snake "coiled around Modi", stating that the Prime Minister could have easily denied Trump's remarks but chose not to.
He wrote, "Trump is coiled around Modi like a snake. And yesterday, @RahulGandhi handed him the perfect chance to wriggle out of the mess. Just say Trump was lying about the ceasefire."
Khera further alleged that Modi deliberately avoided the LoP's advice, allowing Trump's statement to gain traction.
"Simple, right? But no. Modi is allergic to taking Rahul ji's advice. And voila, today the snake is back, coiled tighter than ever, hissing bitter truths into Modi's ear," he added.
The remarks come a day after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, during a debate in the Lok Sabha on Operation Sindoor, challenged the Prime Minister to publicly reject Trump's assertion.
Gandhi said Trump had claimed 29 times that he facilitated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan and asked Modi to clarify whether those statements were true or false.
"If he has the courage of Indira Gandhi, let him say in the House that Donald Trump is lying," Gandhi said.
Pawan Khera's post comes in the wake of a statement given by the US President, just days ahead of the self-imposed August 1 deadline date before the tariffs come into effect.
Trump stated that the India-US trade deal was "working out very well" but hinted at a 20 per cent to 25 per cent tariff on New Delhi.
During a gaggle with the press interaction aboard Air Force One on Tuesday (local time), Trump responded to a report suggesting that India might be preparing for 20 to 25 per cent tariffs, stating that India had been imposing higher tariffs on the US as compared to other countries. He further mentioned that all this would come to an end as he is now "in charge."
However, Trump hasn't sent any letters to India announcing the tariff imposed on New Delhi, as he did for many other nations.
"India has been a good friend. But India has charged basically more tariffs than almost any other country over the years. But now I'm in charge. And you just can't do that. I think the trade deals are working out very well. Hopefully for everybody, but for the United States, they're very, very good," the US President said.
Earlier on April 22, Trump imposed a tariff of 26 per cent on Indian goods imported to the US, before announcing a pause on those "reciprocal" levies.