Over twelve hours after the controversy erupted over Trump’s Kashmir statement, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has finally woken up. He has found time to react on US President Donald Trump’s gaffe on the issue of third party mediation in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a tweet, Rahul Gandhi has claimed that according to President Trump, PM Modi has asked him to mediate between India and Pakistan on Kashmir. Rahul Gandhi went on to claim that PM Modi has betrayed the interest of the country and the 1972 Shimla Agreement.
Rahul Gandhi also rejected the clarification given by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in the Rajya Sabha, terming the denial “weak”.
President Trump says PM Modi asked him to mediate between India & Pakistan on Kashmir!
If true, PM Modi has betrayed India’s interests & 1972 Shimla Agreement.
A weak Foreign Ministry denial won’t do. PM must tell the nation what transpired in the meeting between him & @POTUS
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 23, 2019
This deliberate attack the Gandhi scion came even as Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar issued a statement in both Houses of Parliament wherein he categorically mentioned that Prime Minister Modi had not requested Trump for any mediation on Kashmir issue. He asserted that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and there would be no involvement of any third party.
“I assure the House categorically that no such request has been made by PM to the US President. I also reiterate that it has been India’s consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed bilaterally. Any engagement with Pakistan would require an end to cross-border terrorism,” said Jaishankar.
“The Shimla Agreement and the Lahore declaration provide the basis to resolve all issues between India and Pakistan bilaterally,” he added.
Earlier in the day, a section of trolls from the media and politics spread falsehood regarding India’s stand despite clarification from the MEA. The Congress party has treated the issue as an opportunity to attack PM Modi. The party has now given an adjournment motion notice in the Lok Sabha over Trump’s remarks.
Even Congress’ communication in-charge Randeep Surjewala had resorted to falsehood last night after he took to Twitter to claim that India has never accepted third party mediation in Jammu and Kashmir. However, he forgot one small detail that the credit to Kashmir blunder actually goes to Rahul Gandhi’s great grandfather, former Prime Minister Nehru himself.
And while former Congress President chose to peddle agenda, support for the government came from unexpected sources. Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor chose to stick to facts by stating that he did not believe Trump’s statement and it is impossible that India’s PM ever asked anyone for mediation in the Kashmir issue.
