New Delhi [India], May 12 : Congress leader Pawan Khera on Monday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not addressing US President Donald Trump's recent remarks during his speech on Operation Sindoor. Khera also reiterated that the "hyphenation" of India with Pakistan is unacceptable.
While speaking to ANI, Khera said the Prime Minister should have taken the opportunity to clarify Trump's statements, which he claimed had unsettled many Indians.
"We heard US President Donald Trump before PM Modi and that has disturbed every single Indian, that comes as a very, very shocking declaration or announcement from Donald Trump. We expected the Prime Minister to respond to that and give a clarification to the nation," Khera said
He also expressed concern over what he called the "hyphenation" of India and Pakistan in international discourse. "The hyphenation of Pakistan and India is unacceptable. Successive governments have worked very hard to ensure that there is a de-hyphenation between India and Pakistan," he noted.
Khera reiterated the Congress party's demand for a unified political response, urging the Prime Minister to lead by calling an all-party meeting.
"We have been requesting the Prime Minister to lead the way for a collective resolve to speak in one voice. All party meetings. The Prime Minister did not attend two all-party meetings...We repeat our request. Please call an all-party meeting. Please call a special session of parliament. Nothing sensitive will be discussed in the special session..." he added.
Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump asserted that his administration played a crucial role in brokering an immediate cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, following escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
He said, "We stopped a nuclear conflict. I think it could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed. I also want to thank VP JD Vance and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, for their work..."
Speaking to the media in a press briefing at the White House, Trump emphasised the significant impact of US diplomatic efforts in facilitating the truce, stating, "On Saturday, my administration helped broker an immediate cessation of hostilities, I think a permanent one between India and Pakistan - the countries having a lot of nuclear weapons."
Trump further elaborated on the influence of trade in securing the cessation of hostilities, explaining his approach to the two countries.
"I'm very proud to let you know that the leadership of India and Pakistan was unwavering and powerful... And we helped a lot, and we also helped with trade. I said, 'Come on, we're going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let's stop it, let's stop it. If you stop it, we're doing trade. If you don't stop it, we're not going to do any trade," Trump stated, highlighting his administration's use of trade leverage to encourage peace.
Furthermore, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit also criticised PM Modi's address, saying it lacked clarity on the next steps, including the issue of a ceasefire.
"Operation Sindoor was successful and that's a good thing. We were expecting that after showing the place to Pakistan in 2-3 days, the issue of ceasefire would be discussed. The PM said nothing about it," Dikshit said.
He further noted that the speech revealed no new information. "He said all the things already known to the countrymen," he added.
Meanwhile, in his Address to the Nation, PM Modi said that over 100 terrorists were killed in India's precision strikes of May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
"Terrorists had attacked the sindoor of our sisters, we destroyed the headquarters of terrorists. India's strike killed over 100 terrorists. Several top terrorists, who were roaming freely in Pakistan for the last two-three decades, conspiring against India, they have been killed in one stroke," PM Modi said.
"I am repeating again, we have only paused our retaliatory action against terrorists and military installations in Pakistan. In the coming days, every step taken by Pakistan will be measured. India's Armed Forces, Air Force, Army, and Navy...along with the BSF and paramilitary forces, are alert along the Line of Control. After surgical strikes and air strikes, Operation Sindoor is now India's policy against terrorism," he added.
India had launched a surgical strike on terror launch pads along LoC in 2016 and aerial strikes on a terror camp in Pakistan in 2019.
Twenty-six people were killed in the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22. India responded through Operation Sindoor and launched precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK), in which over 100 terrorists were killed.