BJP president J.P. Nadda on Wednesday accused the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, of “treason” and insulting the valour of the armed forces, a day after the Congress leader hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the abrupt cessation of hostilities with Pakistan “at the behest of the US”.

“Rahul Gandhi calling the unmatched valour and courage of the Indian Army a ‘surrender’ is not only unfortunate but also a grave insult to the Indian Army, the nation and 140 crore Indians,” Nadda hit back in a series of posts on X.

“If any Pakistani had said this, we would have laughed at him, but after the way Operation Sindoor wreaked havoc in Pakistan, no one from the people of Pakistan to its army and even its Prime Minister dared to say this, but Rahul Gandhi is saying this! This is nothing less than treason,” he said.

The Congress promptly countered, saying it was wrong to think that “Narendra Modi is India and India is Narendra Modi”. The party’s media and publicity head, Pawan Khera, clarified that Rahul’s “Narender… surrender” remarks on Tuesday summarised how Prime Minister Modi had time and again “surrendered” the country’s national interests.

At a party event in Bhopal on Tuesday, Rahul had sought to draw a comparison between his grandmother Indira Gandhi, referring to the 1971 war against Pakistan, and accused Modi of "acquiescing to US President Donald Trump’s call for a ceasefire" in the middle of Operation Sindoor.

“I know the BJP-RSS people well. Put some pressure on them, and they get scared and flee. Trump picked up the phone and said, ‘Modiji, what are you doing? Narender surrender!’ And Modiji said, ‘Ji hazoor’ and obeyed Trump’s indication…,” Rahul had said.

The “Narender... surrender” remark riled the BJP. Nadda sought to turn the Congress leader’s comments into an attack on the Indian armed forces to corner the opponent. The BJP president said the “Indian Army had penetrated 300km into Pakistan and destroyed 11 of its airbases, demolished nine terrorist bases, and killed more than 150 terrorists”.

“Pakistan is crying and telling the world that the Indian Army attacked 18 places in Pakistan and destroyed everything, and Rahul Gandhi is talking about the surrender of the country. Operation Sindoor is a proclamation of the bravery and valour of the Indian Army,” Nadda said.