US President Donald Trump has once again claimed credit for brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, his latest assertion coming hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed Parliament and declared that no foreign government had pressured India during Operation Sindoor.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One during his return from Scotland to Washington, Trump said, “And you know, they ended the war with Pakistan at my request, and that was great. And Pakistan did also. We did a lot of, a lot of great settlements, including the recent one, as you know, with Cambodia.”
In the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Modi avoided directly addressing Trump’s repeated claims despite a specific dare from Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi do to do so if he had “even half the courage of an Indira Gandhi”.
In his speech during the discussion in parliament on Operation Sindoor, Modi said, “No world leader asked India to stop its [military] operation.”
He also shared details of a call from US Vice-President J.D. Vance during a tense night in May.
“On the night of (May) 9th, the vice president of the United States attempted to contact me. He tried for an hour, but I was in a meeting with the military and was unable to answer,” Modi said. “Later, I returned his call. During our conversation, the vice president informed me that Pakistan was planning to launch a major offensive. In response, I firmly stated, ‘If this is Pakistan’s intent, it will pay a very heavy price’. That’s exactly what I said.”
The Opposition seized upon Modi’s reluctance to rebut Trump directly.
“He did not even take Trump's name even once in his two-hour speech,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said. “He should have condemned Trump's remarks and said that he is trying to distort the image of the country.
“Our policy has been that we have never accepted any sort of mediation by a third party in negotiations and it is unacceptable to us even today. Why did they agree, what were the reasons, they should tell the country,” he added.
He accused Modi of lacking the courage to confront Trump:
“The PM doesn't have the guts to tell Trump that he is lying and it seems that there is something fishy,” he declared.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, never one to let go of a chance to rib the prime minister, let off another salvo.
“This is President Trump yet again — after the PM's intervention yesterday in the Lok Sabha where he deflected and diverted the main issue,” Ramesh wrote, with a video clip of Trump’s latest comments.
He questioned why Modi had not directly denied Trump’s repeated claims:
“Why is the PM simply refusing to unequivocally and categorically deny what his good friend Donald Trump has now said 30 times in the US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UK? The answer is clear. Mr. Narendra Modi is on a very weak wicket and has much to cover up.”
Pawan Khera, head of the Congress media and publicity department, made a stinging remark: “Trump is coiled around Modi like a snake. And yesterday, Rahul Gandhi handed him the perfect chance to wriggle out of the mess. Just say Trump was lying about the ceasefire. 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.”
Trump’s tariff tough talk
Trump also confirmed that a trade deal with India is still pending.
“No, it’s not,” he responded when asked if the deal was finalised. “We are going to see. But 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.”
Trump also weighed in on reports of impending US tariffs on Indian goods, suggesting a hike of 20-25 per cent.
When asked about the issue, he said, “Ya, I think so.”
He maintained a cordial tone toward India, saying, “India has been, they're my friends, and he's my friend,” he said referring to Modi.
“I think the trade deals are working out very well, hopefully for everybody but for the United States, they're very, very good,” Trump said, referring to broader negotiations.
A US delegation is scheduled to visit India on August 25 for the next round of trade discussions.