Rahul Gandhi in doubt again, targets EAM Jaishankar over US role in India-Pak ceasefire; BJP hits back

A day after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar debunked Donald Trump's claims about mediation in the India-Pakistan ceasefire understanding, Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has yet again questioned US' role in the issue.

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi claimed that India's foreign policy has "collapsed" and asked three questions - all of which were answered by EAM Jaishankar in his interview with Dutch public broadcaster NOS. Gandhi also shared an edited video in which the EAM was seen fumbling at the questions asked by the Dutch journalist. The LoP falsely claimed that no countries backed India in condemning Pakistan.

Responding to Rahul Gandhi's continuous barrage of questions, BJP addressed the media and party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said that he should ask his questions in all-party meetings and no cause harm to the nation.

"You can ask any question in an all-party meeting of the MEA briefing. Your questions can be answered... But such activities by Rahul Gandhi are not innocent. This cannot be neglected by calling it Rahul Gandhi's childlike, for which he is known... When it is about the nation, every statement holds weight, and will be exposed if it causes harm to the country," Bhatia said.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had targeted Jaishankar accusing the government of informing Pakistan at the start of Operation Sindoor. The Ministry of External Affairs had then responded firmly, saying Jaishankar’s words were being taken out of context.

What had EAM S Jaishankar said in the interview?

EAM Jaishankar said in the interview, "Rubio had spoken to me, Vance had spoken to our prime minister. They had their view, and they were talking to us, and they were talking to Pakistanis, as indeed were some other countries. The United States was not alone in this. I think there were some countries in the Gulf. There were some others as well."

"But the cessation of firing and military action was something which was negotiated directly between India and Pakistan," he clarified.

"We made one thing very clear to everybody who spoke to us, not just the United States, but to everybody that if the Pakistanis want to stop firing, they need to tell us. We need to hear it from them. Their general has to call up our general and say this and that is what happened," he said.

Moreover, in an interview with Dutch daily De Volkskrant, Jaishankar was point blank in his statement when he said, "Let's stop pretending Pakistan is not involved in terrorist attacks on India."

"We should not go along with the narrative that Pakistan does not know what is going on. The most notorious terrorists on the United Nations (UN) sanctions list are all in Pakistan," Jaishankar said.