What happened to 'Papa ne war rukwa di': Congress's dig at PM over Pakistan role in US-Iran ceasefire

New Delhi: Taking a swipe at the government, the Congress on Wednesday said the role played by Pakistan in bringing about the ceasefire between the US-Israel and Iran is a "severe setback" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "highly personalised diplomacy" and asked what happened to "papa ne war rukwa di".

The opposition party also asked why Modi, who claims very special friendship with the US, Israel, Iran, and the Gulf countries and who also holds the BRICS plus presidency this year, was not in the picture at all during the ceasefire negotiations.

Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said Modi's "cowardice is demonstrated by his silence not only on Israel's belligerence, but on the completely unacceptable and disgraceful language being used by his good friend in the White House".

He said the entire world will cautiously welcome the two-week ceasefire in the West Asia conflict between the US and Israel on the one side and Iran on the other.

"The conflict had begun on February 28th with the targeted assassinations of the topmost echelons of the regime in Iran. These had started just two days after Prime Minister Modi had completed his much-trumpeted visit to Israel, a visit that diminished India's global stature and standing," Ramesh claimed.

Modi had said nothing about Israel's "genocide" in Gaza and its aggressively expansionist policies in the occupied West Bank, he said.

"The role played by Pakistan in bringing about the ceasefire is a severe setback to both the substance and style of Mr Modi's highly personalised diplomacy," he said.

The policy to isolate Pakistan for its continuing support to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and to convince the world that it is a failed state has clearly not succeeded unlike what Manmohan Singh had accomplished after the Mumbai terror attacks, Ramesh claimed.

That a bankrupt economy dependent entirely on the largesse of external donors and a broken country in so many ways was able to play such a role calls into question Modi's strategy of engagement and narrative management, he said.

"He (Modi) or his team has also never explained why Op Sindoor was suddenly and abruptly halted on May 10th 2025 - the first announcement of which came from the US Secretary of State and for which the US President has claimed credit almost a hundred times since then," the Congress leader said.

"There is a palpable sigh of relief everywhere. The External Affairs Minister (S Jaishankar) dismissed Pakistan as a dalal. But now the self-styled Vishwaguru stands thoroughly exposed, his self-declared 56-inch chest shrunk and shrivelled," Ramesh said.

"His cowardice is demonstrated by his silence not only on Israel's belligerence, but on the completely unacceptable and disgraceful language being used by his good friend in the White House," he added.

In another post on X, Ramesh said, "Why is the PM of India -- who claims very special friendship with the US, Israel, Iran, and the Gulf countries and who also holds the BRICS+ Presidency this year -- not in the picture at all during the ceasefire negotiations? How and why was India not pivotal during the ceasefire negotiations?"

"What happened to 'papa ne war rukwa di'?" Ramesh said in an apparent reference to a promotional video that released in March 2024 last year that implied India had intervened to halt the war between Ukraine and Russia for the evacuation of Indian students in Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed "western powers" for speaking in a "despicable language" on the Iran conflict and said the world is understanding as the "veil of morality falls" from the face of the West.

The Congress general secretary asserted that hatred, anger, violence and injustice never win, while courage always wins.

"Iranian men and women formed human chains around their country's resources while western powers spoke in a despicable language, heralding the 'end of a civilisation'," Priyanka Gandhi said on X.

"The world is watching and understanding as the veil of morality falls from across the face of the West. Hatred, anger, violence and injustice never win. Courage always wins," she said.

US President Donald Trump pulled back on his threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran late Tuesday, as the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump swerved to de-escalate the war less than two hours before the deadline he set for Tehran to capitulate to a deal or face attacks on its bridges and power plants meant to destroy the Iranian civilisation.

Trump made the dramatic announcement on Truth Social on Tuesday evening (US time) even as Democrats called for his removal over unhinged threats to wipe out the Iranian civilisation.

"Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz," the US President said in a social media post.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the US in Pakistan beginning Friday. Neither Iran nor the US said when the ceasefire would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.