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Time of India
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Parliament Monsoon session: Congress gagged Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, suggests PM Modi
NEW DELHI: The absence of Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari from the list of speakers fielded by Congress for debate on Operation Sindoor took a different dimension Tuesday, with PM Modi suggesting the duo, who were part of all-party delegations sent abroad, have been "gagged" by their party leadership. In his reply to the debate in LS, the PM said members of all-party delegations sensitised the international community to Pakistan's use of terrorism as a weapon against India and the necessity for Operation Sindoor but "it seems some of them have been prevented from speaking". Suggesting Congress members were under pressure, Modi told them "not to cave to pressure from one family to give clean chit to Pakistan". This was widely seen as reference to Tharoor and Tewari who defied Congress to be part of govt's global outreach. The speculation about Congress leadership's annoyance being the reason for them being left on the bench despite their familiarity with international affairs, gathered force on Tuesday after Tewari posted on X, "Bharat ka rehne wala hun, Bharat ki baat sunata hun," and shared a report from a news portal on him and Tharoor not participating in the debate. Tewari told reporters on Parliament campus, "If you don't understand my silences, you will never understand my words." While Tharoor refused to comment on the issue telling reporters he was on "maun vrat", sources said the Thiruvananthapuram MP was approached by Congress at a late stage with the offer to speak, but he turned down the offer. BJP MP Anurag Thakur said Tharoor and Tewari were not being allowed to speak by 'Rahul-occupied Congress'.
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Business Standard
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
PM Modi denies foreign pressure to stop Operation Sindoor offensive
Rejecting Opposition criticism that he succumbed to US President Donald Trump's pressure to call off India's offensive against Pakistan on May 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted in the Lok Sabha that no leader of any country asked New Delhi to stop Operation Sindoor. He said that Pakistan, despite having an inkling of India's response to the terror attack, could do little when India's armed forces destroyed terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan within 22 minutes on the intervening night of May 6 and 7 to avenge the April 22 Pahalgam attack. In his 100-minute speech in the Lok Sabha on the 'special discussion on India's strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor', the PM said India's strong action against terror has spurred the 'Sindoor spirit' across the country, a spirit that was also on display when Indian delegations visited world capitals to put forth the country's case. He said the delegations performed their task creditably. Alluding to the Congress not fielding its MPs Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, and Amar Singh, who were part of the delegations, during the discussion, Modi said he is surprised that the Congress has banned some of its leaders from speaking in the House as the Lok Sabha TV cut away from the PM to show Tharoor. Earlier in the day, in a social media post, Tewari quoted lines from the song 'Bharat ka rehne wala hoon, Bharat ki baat sunata hoon' from Manoj Kumar-starrer 1970 movie 'Purab aur Pashchim' as his reaction to media reports on being 'benched' by his party during the discussion on Operation Sindoor. Asked about his post, Tewari told reporters on Parliament House premises, 'There is a saying in English – if you don't understand my silence, you will never understand my words.' Coincidentally, the PM opened and ended his speech by saying that he has put forth 'Bharat's perspective' on Operation Sindoor. In his stinging attack on the Congress, and the past 'blunders' by Congress governments, including first PM Jawaharlal Nehru's in signing the Indus Water Treaty, the PM said that the Congress 'now operates through the remote control of Pakistan'. 'Out of desperation, the Congress even questioned the timing of Operation Mahadev that eliminated the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack on Monday,' he said. On questions that Operation Sindoor was called off because of US pressure, Modi told the House that on May 9 night, "US Vice President (J D Vance) tried to reach out to me three-four times, but I was busy with meetings with the armed forces". "When I returned the call, the US Vice President warned me of a big attack from Pakistan. I told him that if Pakistan attacks India, our attack would be much bigger as we will respond to bullets with cannons," he said. The PM said Pakistani airbases hit by India "are still in ICU" and the masterminds of the April 22 terror attack continue to have sleepless nights. Modi noted that Pakistan had some inkling of Indian action and had started issuing nuclear threats, but could do nothing when terror targets were hit. 'The Congress and its allies have unfortunately become spokespersons for Pakistani propaganda. India is becoming self-reliant, but Congress is now dependent on Pakistan for issues. The entire country is amazed to see Congress give a clean chit to Pakistan and sing the same tune as theirs,' Modi said. He urged leaders in the Congress to stop issuing 'clean chits to Pakistan' under 'one family's pressure'. 'We have complete trust in the capabilities of our armed forces and they were given a free hand to respond. The armed forces taught them such a lesson that the masters of terrorism are still losing their sleep over it,' he added. 'No country in the world has stopped India from any action in its defence against terrorism. Only three countries spoke in favour of Pakistan at the United Nations (UN),' he said, adding: 'India got support from the entire world, but it is unfortunate that the Congress did not support the valour of our soldiers. Congress leaders targeted me for political gains, but their frivolous statements ended up discouraging our brave soldiers.' The PM noted that India called out Pakistan's nuclear bluff and showed the world that "we will not bow down to nuclear blackmail". In his intervention, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the government lacked the political will to support the Indian armed forces. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's statements made on Monday laid bare how the government revealed sensitive details about Operation Sindoor to Pakistan. 'Rajnath Singh said Operation Sindoor began at 1.05 am and that by 1.35 am, India had already called Pakistan to inform them that we had hit non-military targets and that we did not want escalation,' Gandhi said. He alleged that the government did not give full freedom of operation and manoeuvrability to the defence forces. The Congress leader claimed that the Indian Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) was instructed by the government to seek a ceasefire just 30 minutes after the launch of the operation. 'At 1.35 in the night, you told Pakistan exactly what you were going to do — that we will not hit military targets, that we don't want escalation,' Gandhi said. "You directly told Pakistan your political will, that you do not want to fight," he alleged. "You attacked Pakistan and simultaneously told them we are not going to hit your army or air defence systems. That is not freedom of manoeuvre; that is surrender." Gandhi also claimed that the loss of Indian aircraft during the operation was due to political constraints, not military shortcomings. "The aircraft were lost because the political leadership had tied the hands of the armed forces by deciding to not attack military and air defence infrastructure in Pakistan," he said. Opening the discussion in the Rajya Sabha, the defence minister said if Pakistan cannot take action against terrorism on its soil, India is ready to help the neighbouring country as Indian forces are capable of fighting terror on the other side of the border as well. In the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Home Minister Amit Shah talked about Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and even her mother's tears in Lok Sabha but did not answer "why the war" against Pakistan was halted. In his intervention in the Lok Sabha, the home minister said three of the terrorists who carried out the Pahalgam massacre have been eliminated by security forces in a joint operation by the Army, CRPF, and Jammu and Kashmir Police near Srinagar. Indian agencies have "ample" evidence to say that these were Pakistani terrorists affiliated to the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Shah told the House. In the Rajya Sabha, which took up the discussion on the subject on Tuesday, Leader of the Opposition and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said Shah must take responsibility for the "security lapse" that led to the Pahalgam terror attack, demanding that accountability be fixed and "whosoever is responsible quit". In the Lok Sabha, Independent MP from Baramulla (Jammu and Kashmir) Sheikh Abdul Rashid said the Pahalgam attack was a blot on humanity. Rashid said the government's claim that everything is normal in the Valley is confined to social media only. "We are tired of carrying dead bodies," he said. Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal said, "If we can play cricket with Pakistan, why can't Diljit Dosanjh's movie be released in India?' Dosanjh had defended his decision to release 'Sardaar Ji 3' in overseas territories amid controversy over the casting of a Pakistani actor in the movie.


Business Standard
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
No world leader asked India to stop Operation Sindoor: PM in Lok Sabha
Rejecting Opposition criticism that he succumbed to US President Donald Trump's pressure to call off India's offensive against Pakistan on May 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted in the Lok Sabha that no leader of any country asked New Delhi to stop Operation Sindoor. He said that Pakistan, despite having an inkling of India's response to the terror attack, could do little when India's armed forces destroyed terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan within 22 minutes on the intervening night of May 6 and 7 to avenge the April 22 Pahalgam attack. In his 100-minute speech in the Lok Sabha on the 'special discussion on India's strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor', the PM said India's strong action against terror has spurred the 'Sindoor spirit' across the country, a spirit that was also on display when Indian delegations visited world capitals to put forth the country's case. He said the delegations performed their task creditably. Alluding to the Congress not fielding its MPs Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, and Amar Singh, who were part of the delegations, during the discussion, Modi said he is surprised that the Congress has banned some of its leaders from speaking in the House as the Lok Sabha TV cut away from the PM to show Tharoor. Earlier in the day, in a social media post, Tewari quoted lines from the song 'Bharat ka rehne wala hoon, Bharat ki baat sunata hoon' from Manoj Kumar-starrer 1970 movie 'Purab aur Pashchim' as his reaction to media reports on being 'benched' by his party during the discussion on Operation Sindoor. Asked about his post, Tewari told reporters on Parliament House premises, 'There is a saying in English – if you don't understand my silence, you will never understand my words.' Coincidentally, the PM opened and ended his speech by saying that he has put forth 'Bharat's perspective' on Operation Sindoor. In his stinging attack on the Congress, and the past 'blunders' by Congress governments, including first PM Jawaharlal Nehru's in signing the Indus Water Treaty, the PM said that the Congress 'now operates through the remote control of Pakistan'. 'Out of desperation, the Congress even questioned the timing of Operation Mahadev that eliminated the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack on Monday,' he said. On questions that Operation Sindoor was called off because of US pressure, Modi told the House that on May 9 night, "US Vice President (J D Vance) tried to reach out to me three-four times, but I was busy with meetings with the armed forces". "When I returned the call, the US Vice President warned me of a big attack from Pakistan. I told him that if Pakistan attacks India, our attack would be much bigger as we will respond to bullets with cannons," he said. The PM said Pakistani airbases hit by India "are still in ICU" and the masterminds of the April 22 terror attack continue to have sleepless nights. Modi noted that Pakistan had some inkling of Indian action and had started issuing nuclear threats, but could do nothing when terror targets were hit. 'The Congress and its allies have unfortunately become spokespersons for Pakistani propaganda. India is becoming self-reliant, but Congress is now dependent on Pakistan for issues. The entire country is amazed to see Congress give a clean chit to Pakistan and sing the same tune as theirs,' Modi said. He urged leaders in the Congress to stop issuing 'clean chits to Pakistan' under 'one family's pressure'. 'We have complete trust in the capabilities of our armed forces and they were given a free hand to respond. The armed forces taught them such a lesson that the masters of terrorism are still losing their sleep over it,' he added. 'No country in the world has stopped India from any action in its defence against terrorism. Only three countries spoke in favour of Pakistan at the United Nations (UN),' he said, adding: 'India got support from the entire world, but it is unfortunate that the Congress did not support the valour of our soldiers. Congress leaders targeted me for political gains, but their frivolous statements ended up discouraging our brave soldiers.' The PM noted that India called out Pakistan's nuclear bluff and showed the world that "we will not bow down to nuclear blackmail". In his intervention, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the government lacked the political will to support the Indian armed forces. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's statements made on Monday laid bare how the government revealed sensitive details about Operation Sindoor to Pakistan. 'Rajnath Singh said Operation Sindoor began at 1.05 am and that by 1.35 am, India had already called Pakistan to inform them that we had hit non-military targets and that we did not want escalation,' Gandhi said. He alleged that the government did not give full freedom of operation and manoeuvrability to the defence forces. The Congress leader claimed that the Indian Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) was instructed by the government to seek a ceasefire just 30 minutes after the launch of the operation. 'At 1.35 in the night, you told Pakistan exactly what you were going to do — that we will not hit military targets, that we don't want escalation,' Gandhi said. "You directly told Pakistan your political will, that you do not want to fight," he alleged. "You attacked Pakistan and simultaneously told them we are not going to hit your army or air defence systems. That is not freedom of manoeuvre; that is surrender." Gandhi also claimed that the loss of Indian aircraft during the operation was due to political constraints, not military shortcomings. "The aircraft were lost because the political leadership had tied the hands of the armed forces by deciding to not attack military and air defence infrastructure in Pakistan," he said. Opening the discussion in the Rajya Sabha, the defence minister said if Pakistan cannot take action against terrorism on its soil, India is ready to help the neighbouring country as Indian forces are capable of fighting terror on the other side of the border as well. In the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Home Minister Amit Shah talked about Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and even her mother's tears in Lok Sabha but did not answer "why the war" against Pakistan was halted. In his intervention in the Lok Sabha, the home minister said three of the terrorists who carried out the Pahalgam massacre have been eliminated by security forces in a joint operation by the Army, CRPF, and Jammu and Kashmir Police near Srinagar. Indian agencies have "ample" evidence to say that these were Pakistani terrorists affiliated to the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Shah told the House. In the Rajya Sabha, which took up the discussion on the subject on Tuesday, Leader of the Opposition and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said Shah must take responsibility for the "security lapse" that led to the Pahalgam terror attack, demanding that accountability be fixed and "whosoever is responsible quit". In the Lok Sabha, Independent MP from Baramulla (Jammu and Kashmir) Sheikh Abdul Rashid said the Pahalgam attack was a blot on humanity. Rashid said the government's claim that everything is normal in the Valley is confined to social media only. "We are tired of carrying dead bodies," he said. Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal said, "If we can play cricket with Pakistan, why can't Diljit Dosanjh's movie be released in India?' Dosanjh had defended his decision to release 'Sardaar Ji 3' in overseas territories amid controversy over the casting of a Pakistani actor in the movie.


Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'If you don't understand my silence ...': Fresh rift within Congress? Manish Tewari responds to question on cryptic post
Congress MP Manish Tewari (PTI file photo) NEW DELHI: Congress MP Manish Tewari on Tuesday added fuel to speculation about internal rifts within the party after posting a cryptic message on social media. Without naming anyone directly, Tewari shared a pointed quote outside Parliament: "There is a saying in English -- 'If you don't understand my silences, you will never understand my words. '" The remark came just hours after he posted patriotic lyrics from the iconic Manoj Kumar film Purab Aur Pachhim: "Hai preet jahaan ki reet sada, Main geet wahaan ke gaata hoon, Bharat ka rehne waala hoon, Bharat ki baat sunata hoon." He, in the end of the post, added "Jai Hind." The timing of Tewari's silence is noteworthy. During Monday's marathon Lok Sabha session on Operation Sindoor -- India's retaliatory strikes on Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack , the Chandigarh MP was not given a chance to speak in ongoing Monsoon session. Many expected him to weigh in, given his background and past engagement on national security issues. Tewari wasn't the only notable Congress voice absent from the discussion. Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor also did not participate. According to ANI, fellow MP and party colleague Gaurav Gogoi approached Tharoor to join the debate, but he declined. When pressed by media on Monday, Tharoor brushed aside questions with a terse: "Maunvrat, Maunvrat." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like My Brows Look Fuller Looking Now [See Results] NULASTIN Learn More Undo Both Tewari and Tharoor had been part of the BJP-led government's post-Operation Sindoor outreach to convey India's position on terrorism to the global community. But since then, Tharoor has reportedly faced internal criticism from the Congress high command for his involvement, and his silence appears to reflect tensions within party leadership. Now, Tewari's own silence and symbolic messaging have raised fresh questions about discord among senior Congress leaders -- and whether the party is struggling to present a unified stance on a critical issue of national security.


India Today
a day ago
- Politics
- India Today
Sports is complex: Congress MP Karti Chidambaram backs India-Pak match amid row
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the India-Pakistan cricket match in the Asia Cup, asserting that the matter is far from straightforward. 'Sports is not linear, it is complicated. This is not a bilateral match, but we also need to see that we cannot give walkovers in tournaments,' Chidambaram said, underscoring the complexity of sporting ties amid diplomatic strain. advertisementHis remarks come amid a political row over India's participation in the Asia Cup, following Pakistan's terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam and the government's counteroffensive through Operation Sindoor. India and Pakistan have been placed in the same group along with UAE and Oman. They're scheduled to take on each other on September 14 and will likely clash again on September 21 if they qualify together for the Super Four stage. There might be another India vs Pakistan clash on the cards, if both teams make it to the final as the unveiling of the Asia Cup schedule, there has been widespread criticism of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) for agreeing to play with Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam Terror also responded to the apparent discontent expressed by fellow Congress MP Manish Tewari, who was overlooked as a speaker in Parliament's discussion on Operation Sindoor. 'Manish is a dear friend, I am sure he knows what he is doing. I have not seen his tweet,' Chidambaram remarked when asked about the along with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, had previously been part of the government's all-party delegations that visited various countries to counter Pakistan's narrative on terrorism following Operation Sindoor. However, neither of the two senior leaders was included in the Congress list of speakers for the crucial debate in Parliament this omission has triggered speculation of internal disagreements within the party, particularly as both Tewari and Tharoor are known for their oratory and foreign policy experience. In a veiled expression of disappointment, Tewari shared a screenshot of a news report about the exclusion, along with lyrics from a patriotic song in the 1970 film 'Purab Aur Pachhim'. 'Hai preet jahaan ki reet sada, main geet wahaan ke gaata hoon, Bharat ka rehne waala hoon, Bharat ki baat sunata hoon. Jai Hind,' he posted on social to sources, Tewari had written to the office of the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, requesting to speak during the discussion. Despite this, the Congress party chose not to field him. Congress MP Amar Singh, who was also part of the overseas delegation, was similarly excluded from the list of speakers for the debate.- Ends IN THIS STORY#India-Pakistan