Trump's 'mediator' claims on India-Pak ceasefire: Opposition mounts pressure for all-party meet, seeks answers from Modi govt

New Delhi: The Opposition on Sunday stepped up pressure on the ruling BJP following the claims of the United States on mediating between India and Pakistan, with the Congress asking whether the Modi government has abandoned Simla agreement and opened the door to third-party mediation.

US President Donald Trump made a fresh statement on Sunday that he will work with India and Pakistan to “see, if after a ‘thousand years’, a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir”, a day after claiming that America worked behind the scenes for the ceasefire. On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that India and Pakistan will meet at a “neutral site” for talks.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh reiterated his party’s demand for an all-party meeting and a special session of Parliament for a “full discussion” on Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor and the “ceasefire announcements made from Washington DC first and then subsequently by the Governments of India and Pakistan”.

Formally, Leaders of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge (Rajya Sabha) and Rahul Gandhi (Lok Sabha) wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a special Parliament session.

“Congress considers that the mention of ‘neutral site’ by...Rubio for dialogue between India and Pakistan raises many questions. Have we abandoned the Simla Agreement? Have we opened the doors to third-party mediation?” Ramesh posted on ‘X’ on Sunday. As per Simla agreement, India and Pakistan will resolve issues bilaterally without any involvement of a third country.

Ramesh also asked whether diplomatic channels between India and Pakistan are being reopened and what commitments New Delhi have sought and got from Islamabad.

He also drew attention to remarks made by two former Army Chiefs last evening, including Gen Manoj Naravane (retired) who welcomed the ceasefire but said India “cannot keep having an incident based response and losing lives to terror strikes”.

“These remarks demand answers from the Prime Minister himself,” he said, adding that Congress believes it is but natural for the country to recall Indira Gandhi for her “extraordinarily courageous and resolute leadership in 1971”.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, “This was a huge insult. Now call an all party meeting. If you have courage...the Prime Minister should be present… Why hasn’t Trump stopped the Israel-Gaza war? It is still going on. Trump pressured India to stop its action against Pakistan. This is an attack on our sovereignty and it shows the weakness of our government.”

Senior RJD MP Manoj K Jha found Trump's latest statement "shocking, bizarre, disgusting to the core" and said it worries him that the Modi government has not strongly responded to it. He also said Trump's reference to "thousand years" is in bad taste as Pakistan was created only 78 years ago.

"Nobody, no nation, no third party has the mandate to intervene in this. We may have domestic differences with each other. But as a nation we speak in one voice. These are non-negotiables that should be conveyed to the US president, who is in a hurry to become a supreme judge of the whole world," he told DH.

Forward Bloc General Secretary G Devarajan expressed "grave concern over the role of external powers, particularly the United States, in regional conflicts".

“While the US has mediated between India andPakistan, its actions in the ongoing crisis in Palestine reveal a stark contradiction. The US, through its uncritical military and political support to Israel, has instigated a devastating war, leading to immense loss of civilian life and the destruction of Gaza. Such double standards in foreign policy are unacceptable and undermine the credibility of any peace-brokering efforts,” he said.