‘Foreign policy has collapsed’: Rahul Gandhi asks EAM to explain three diplomatic shortcomings over Operation Sindoor; BJP hits back | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday triggered a political war of words after claiming that India’s foreign policy had collapsed under the Narendra Modi-led government, and asked external affairs minister S Jaishankar to answer three questions regarding India’s global standing following Operation Sindoor and state of heightened tensions with Pakistan.“Will JJ explain: Why has India been hyphenated with Pakistan? Why didn’t a single country back us in condemning Pakistan? Who asked Trump to ‘mediate’ between India & Pakistan?” Rahul wrote in a social media post on X.“India’s foreign policy has collapsed,” he added.Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party attacked Rahul and accused him of weakening India and the morale of the Armed Forces with his questions.“When Operation Sindoor is going on, Rahul Gandhi is giving careless statements. He is asking how many IAF jets are down. On May 11, during a press briefing, Air Marshal Bharti said, ‘We are in a combat scenario, it is not prudent for us to answer that question,'” BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said.“Rahul Gandhi seems to be busy in conversations with Pakistan on how to weaken Indian and the morale of the forces… Today, a senior leader of Pakistan, Mariam Nawaz, gave a statement that on the night of May 6 and 7, and on May 9, Pakistan had to face a huge loss because of India’s action… At such a time, what is LoP and ‘Nishan E Pakistan’ Rahul Gandhi saying?” he added.Bhatia said that Rahul could have asked these questions in all-party meeting of the MEA briefing. He further accused the Congress leader of hating 140 crore Indians while hating Prime Minister Narendra Modi.“You can ask any question in an all-party meeting of the MEA briefing. Your questions can be answered. But such activities by Rahul Gandhi are not innocent. This cannot be neglected by calling it Rahul Gandhi’s childlike, for which he is known. When it is about the nation, every statement holds weight, and will be exposed if it causes harm to the country… Why has Rahul Gandhi started hating 140 crore Indians while hating PM Modi?” Bhatia said.“At Rahul Gandhi’s instructions, Mallikarjun Kharge said that Operation Sindoor is a small war. Looking at Congress’s character and careless attitude, it is not wrong to say that if anyone is betraying India, then it is Rahul Gandhi,” he addedThis comes after the Congress leader had claimed that the Centre informed Pakistan “at the start” of Operation Sindoor and said this wasn’t a “lapse”, but a “crime”.On May 17, Rahul had shared an undated video of Jaishankar, in which the minister is heard saying that “India had warned Pakistan before launching strikes” on terror infrastructure.Following Rahul’s remarks, the BJP slammed the Congress leader, calling his statements “sinister.”“Rahul Gandhi’s daftness is not merely incidental — it is sinister. He is speaking the language of Pakistan,” BJP’s Amit Malviya said in a post on X.The ministry of external affairs refuted Rahul’s claim, calling it a “misrepresentation of facts.”The MEA clarified that the government had warned Pakistan during the “early phase after Operation Sindoor’s commencement,” not before it began. It noted that Jaishankar had said, “We had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Op Sindoor’s commencement.”“This is being falsely represented as a warning issued before the commencement. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out,” the ministry added.Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7, targeting terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.