PM Modi unable to say ‘Trump is lying’ as the POTUS will lay bare the truth: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on 30 July, Wednesday, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot state that US president Donald Trump is lying about his role in bringing about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan as, if he does so, the American leader will lay bare the truth.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too argued that Prime Minister Modi should state clearly in Parliament that the US president is lying.

The remarks by the Gandhi siblings came after Trump repeated his claim of having played a role in bringing about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

Asked about Trump's latest remarks repeating his claims and saying that India is preparing to face higher US tariffs between 20 and 25 per cent, Gandhi said, "It is obvious... The prime minister has not said that Trump is lying. It is obvious what has happened. Everyone knows, [but] he is not able to say it. That is the reality."

"If the prime minister says it, then he (Trump) will say [otherwise] openly and will lay bare the truth, so that is why the PM is not able to say anything," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

Gandhi said Trump is making these remarks to put pressure on the Indian government for the trade deal.

"Now you see what kind of trade deal happens," he told reporters in the Parliament House complex.

Asked about Trump repeating his claims, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also said, "If you hear the words used by the prime minister and the external affairs minister carefully, they are vague. They should say it directly. Rahul-ji said yesterday also, he (PM Modi) should say that the US president is lying. He should say it in Parliament."

Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge too said the PM doesn't have the guts to tell Trump that he is lying and that shows "daal mein kuch kala hai (there is something fishy going on)".

"Our policy has been that we have never accepted any sort of mediation by a third party in negotiations and it is unacceptable to us even today. Why did they agree? What were the reasons? They should tell the country," Kharge told reporters in the Parliament complex.

"He (PM Modi) did not even take Trump's name once in his 2-hour speech. He should have condemned Trump's remarks and said that he is trying to distort the image of the country," Kharge said.

In a no-holds-barred attack in the Lok Sabha on 29 July, Tuesday, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had dared Prime Minister Modi to categorically rebutt US president Trump's claims of mediating the India–Pakistan ceasefire.

"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,’" Rahul Gandhi 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 10 May, when Trump first 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 President Trump last month, Prime Minister Modi had firmly stated that India does not and will "never accept" mediation, and that the discussions between Indian and Pakistani militaries on the cessation of military actions were initiated by Islamabad's request.

India launched Operation Sindoor on 7 May, 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 10 May to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.