Congress leader K C Venugopal
Credit: DH Photo/S K Dinesh
Bengaluru: AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal on Wednesday claimed that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's answers about the ceasefire with Pakistan to the consultative committee on external affairs was "unsatisfactory".
"Why is the Prime Minister silent when US President Donald Trump shockingly claimed that he pressurised India into a ceasefire using trade? Foreign policy is no longer sovereign. It's being directed by Washington and not Delhi. The day before yesterday, the consultative committee of external affairs met. We asked the minister several questions but didn't get satisfactory replies from the minister. The country needs satisfactory answers. We sought a parliament session on the issue not out of any political reason but to show that India is united.”
Venugopal, one of the members of the consultative committee, was speaking during the Jai Hind Sabha organised by the Congress to honour the armed forces. The AICC held similar programmes across the country.
Hailing the armed forces, he said, “This was one of the cleanest slaps. We are proud of our armed forces for giving a befitting reply to Pakistan through Operation Sindoor. However, while saluting the armed forces, the government must clarify certain questions in the public domain."
Seeking answers for the "intelligence failure" during the Pahalgam incident, Venugopal wondered whether the government was examining it and taking responsibility.
"The terrorists who killed those 26 people haven't yet been caught. Where are they? Does the government have any idea?"
The AICC general secretary emphasised that the tweets by Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claiming their intervention in ceasefire talks violated the long-standing policy that Kashmir was an Indo-Pak bilateral issue.
Venugopal claimed that the Congress’ support to the Centre during Operation Sindoor was in stark contrast to the BJP's behaviour as the opposition party during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
“We have political differences but whenever national interest is at stake, we will stand together. Country is first, everything else is second. This is the tradition and ethos of the Indian National Congress. We are not like any other party. Our nationalism isn't for electoral politics. That's the difference between us and you," the AICC general secretary said.