PM must tell all-party meeting what he told President Trump: Congress

The Congress on Wednesday, 18 June, demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi call an all-party meeting immediately upon his return from his three-nation tour to brief leaders on what he has told US president Donald Trump in a telephonic conversation. The Prime Minister must take the nation into confidence, said the Congress.

The opposition party said reports that Pakistan Army chief Gen. Asim Munir would be having lunch with Trump was a "huge setback" for India and added that the PM should have conveyed India's displeasure.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP and general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh urged the government to form a 'Pahalgam Review Committee' on the lines of the Kargil Review Committee that was set up three days after the Kargil War, chaired by K. Subrahmanyam, father of external affairs minister S. Jaishankar.

Ramesh told PTI that the prime minister must rebut in Parliament Trump's claims of using trade as an instrument for mediating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

Ramesh's remarks came after Modi spoke with President Trump and set the record straight that India had paused strikes on Pakistan during Operation Sindoor following a request from Islamabad and not due to mediation or offer of a trade deal by the US.

According to foreign secretary Vikram Misri, in a 35-minute phone call Modi briefed the US president on Operation Sindoor and made it clear that it has never accepted any third-party mediation and will never accept it in the future.

On reports that Trump is scheduled to have lunch with Gen. Munir, Ramesh said, "This is a triple jhatka for Indian diplomacy. Today Field Marshal Munir, whose incendiary, inflammatory, provocative and unacceptable remarks formed the background to the Pahalgam terror attack, is set to have lunch with President Trump...This is a huge setback."

"The second huge setback came when US General Michael Kurilla, the US Central Command Chief, declared Pakistan to be a 'phenomenal partner' in counter-terror operations. Same Pakistan that gave sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden who was killed in May 2, 2011 in Abbottabad. How does Pakistan become a phenomenal partner? Pakistan is a phenomenal perpetrator," said Ramesh.

The third setback, according to him, was President Trump claiming credit, at least 14 times, for pausing Operation Sindoor and bringing about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

"He (Trump) says he used trade as an instrument, equating India and Pakistan. He said this 14 times and the PM has not said anything since May 10. So this is a triple setback," the Congress leader said.

With PTI inputs