PM Modi 'refusing' to deny Trump's claims as he is on 'very weak wicket': Congress

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "refusing to unequivocally" deny US President Donald Trump's India-Pakistan ceasefire claims as he is on a "very weak wicket and has much to cover up".

The opposition party also took a swipe at Prime Minister Modi after Trump repeated his claim about playing a role in bringing about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, saying the American leader is coiled around the PM "like a snake" and "hissing bitter truths" into his ear.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday on Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Scotland, Trump repeated the claim that he stopped the conflict between India and Pakistan.

Tagging a video of Trump's latest remarks, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "This is President Trump yet again - After the PM's intervention yesterday in the Lok Sabha where he deflected and diverted the main issue."

"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," Ramesh said on X.

Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "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 voilà, today the snake is back, coiled tighter than ever, hissing bitter truths into Modi's ear," Khera said on X.

Asked about reports that India is preparing to face higher US tariffs between 20-25 per cent, Trump on Tuesday replied, "Ya, I think so." "India has been, they're my friends, and he's my friend, Trump said," referring to Prime Minister Modi.

"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," Trump said.

In a no-holds-barred attack in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had dared Prime Minister Modi to categorically rebut US President Trump's India-Pakistan ceasefire claims.

"If Modi ji has even 50 per cent of the courage that Indira Gandhi had, then clearly he must say in Parliament -- Donald Trump is lying," he had said.

Modi, who spoke after Gandhi, affirmed that no leader of any country asked India to stop Operation Sindoor but lamented that while the nation got support from the entire world, the Congress and its allies could not stand behind the valour of the nation's soldiers.

Speaking with reporters after the debate ended, Gandhi said, "Narendra Modi did not clearly say that Trump is lying. Trump has said 29 times that he brought about a ceasefire, but Narendra Modi did not respond to it." Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire after a long night of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim on several occasions that he helped settle the tensions between India and Pakistan.

However, India has been consistently maintaining that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.

In a nearly 35-minute phone call with Trump last month, Modi had firmly stated that India does not and will "never accept" mediation and that the discussions between Indian and Pakistani militaries on cessation of military actions were initiated at Islamabad's request.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.