&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Marco Rubio's response to deaths of Indian sailors sparks backlash, opposition targets Modi's silence")
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statement on US military strike on a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman that killed three Indian seafarers has triggered a backlash in India. Rubio defended the attack without showing any condolences or remorse for the Indian lives lost in the attack. In a statement, Rubio said that “all security should immediately comply with orders from the US forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the strait”. India’s Ministry of External Affairs summoned the US chargé d’affaires twice within three days to protest the deaths and demand accountability. Though the statement from the US lacked any acknowledgement of Indian lives lost.
Opposition MP Sashi Tharoor called it “ deeply insensitive”. He said he was deeply “shocked” and asked whether targeting the propulsion or steering system could have been a more proportional response instead of killing Indians. “Practically every merchant ship navigating these crucial waters has an Indian crew on board. Are they all considered fair game for US missiles now?” wrote Tharoor in a post on social media platform X.
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi went further. He called out Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence, labelling him a “compromised PM” and “an obedient servant” to Washington. Rahul Gandhi further raised the case of Indian sailor Nishanth Uirthanathan, who died due to medical complications aboard MT Celestial docked at Duqm Port in Oman, and urged the government to expedite the repatriation of his mortal remains.
He criticised Modi's lack of public statement, asserting that "a free country would never tolerate such language". He accused Modi of failing to protect Indian citizens and the country's "national dignity".
Senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra condemned the government's response as “shameful”, suggesting that India must assert itself against foreign high-handedness. Congress President Malikarjun Kharge said that “Indian lives cannot be treated as an afterthought in matters of foreign policy,” adding that “silence is not a substitute for accountability.”
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Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that Modi not only signed away the future of Indian farmers in a deal which “saw the Modi Government unilaterally make enormous concessions” but also promised to purchase approximately $500 billion worth of American goods over the next five years. He claimed that countries like Malaysia had made their trade agreement with the US null and void following the US Supreme Court decision. He urged New Delhi to postpone the visit of the US Trade Representative, in light of the US Supreme Court decision, the recent US attacks on Indians commercial vessels and the lack of remorse from Marco Rubio's statement.
