Amid Trump's 'ceasefire' claims, Nath hails Indira Gandhi for resisting US pressure during 1971 war

Jabalpur: Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Kamal Nath on Saturday hailed former prime minister Indira Gandhi for not giving in to pressure from the United States of America during the 1971 India-Pakistan war which led to the creation of Bangladesh.

Nath's statement at the MP Congress' 'Jai Hind Sabha' here came in the backdrop of US President Donald Trump repeatedly asserting that he got India and Pakistan to end hostilities triggered by Operation Sindoor.

However, India has stuck to its stand that the US had no role to play. During a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Pakistan had "begged" for a ceasefire during Operation Sindoor.

Following the horrific Pahalgam attack on April 22, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, decimating terror infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan. The neighbouring country retaliated with drones and missiles but failed to cause harm. The two nations announced cessation of hostilities on May 10.

"I saw the 1971 war. I saw the strength of (then PM) Indira Gandhi. The US (which supported Pakistan at the time) exerted pressure from different quarters but Indiraji refused to budge," Nath said at the rally.

Earlier in the day, Congress social media and digital platforms chairperson Supriya Shrinate, in a post on X, asked Modi to break his silence on Trump's claims.

Speaking at the rally, Nath hailed the people for turning up in such large numbers to honour the country's armed forces.

The Congress is holding 'Jai Hind Sabhas' across the country to salute the armed forces, while the BJP has been carrying out 'Tiranga Yatras' to celebrate the success of Operation Sindoor.

Speaking on state affairs, Nath said MP was now the capital of lies, corruption, abduction of women and anti-farmer policies.

"The picture of MP is in front of you. There is inflation and unemployment. I am deeply concerned with unemployment. Youth are wandering for jobs. If their future is dark, then what sort of MP are we building," Nath questioned.

"When I was CM and approached industrialists to invest in MP, they would claim the state is beset with rampant corruption," Nath added.

The Congress has been out of power in MP since 2003, except for a brief 15-month period between December 2018 and March 2020 under Nath.

The Nath government collapsed after several MLAs, most of them loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia, quit and joined the BJP. The BJP retained power with a huge majority in the 2023 assembly polls.