‘Compromised PM has surrendered India’s strategic autonomy’: Rahul Gandhi

A day after a US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in international waters off Sri Lanka’s coast, Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of compromising India’s strategic independence, saying the country was being led at a moment of global turmoil by a leader who had “surrendered our strategic autonomy”.

Reacting to the incident and the escalating crisis in West Asia, Gandhi said the government’s silence was troubling at a time when India’s security and energy interests were directly at stake.

“The world has entered a volatile phase and stormy seas lie ahead,” Gandhi said in a post on X. “India’s oil supplies are under threat, with more than 40 per cent of our imports transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The situation is even worse for LPG and LNG.

"The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the prime minister has said nothing. At a moment like this, India needs a steady hand at the wheel. Instead, India has a compromised PM who has surrendered our strategic autonomy.”

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also criticised what he described as the government’s failure to respond to the incident, saying the Modi government’s “reckless abdication” of India’s strategic and national interests was now evident.

“An Iranian ship, a guest of India, was returning unarmed from the International Fleet Review 2026 hosted by us and was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). No statement of concern or condolence. PM Modi remains mute,” Kharge said in a post on X. “Why lecture us on the doctrines of MAHASAGAR and India being a ‘Net Security Provider’ in the IOR, when you can’t react to what is happening in your own backyard?”

Kharge also pointed to the wider fallout of the escalating crisis in West Asia, saying 38 Indian-flag commercial ships along with around 1,100 sailors were currently stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. “Indian sailors, including Captain Ashish Kumar, have reportedly died. Why is there no maritime rescue or relief operation in place?” he asked.

The Congress chief also questioned the government’s preparedness to deal with the economic consequences of the conflict. “You say only 25 days of crude and oil stocks left. With rising oil prices, what is our energy contingency plan, especially in the wake of GOI virtually accepting the (American) demand to stop import of Russian oil? What about the trade of other key commodities with the Gulf countries?” he said.

Kharge further raised concerns about the safety of Indian citizens in the Gulf region. “There are one crore Indians in the Gulf region countries. Medical students are releasing desperate video messages seeking help. How is the GOI securing their well-being? Is there any evacuation plan in place from the affected areas?” he asked.

Referring to a Ministry of External Affairs statement issued on 3 March, Kharge said it had already acknowledged that “some Indian nationals have lost their lives or are missing”.

“Clearly, Modi Ji's SURRENDER is both political and moral! It demeans India’s core national interests and destroys our foreign policy carefully and painstakingly built and followed by successive governments over the years!” Kharge said.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP and general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh also criticised the government’s silence, noting that the Iranian warship had recently taken part in a naval exercise hosted by India. “This US action has enormous implications for India as well and it is shocking that there has been no official response to it till now,” Ramesh said.

“Maybe it should not be surprising since the Modi government has still not broken its silence over the targeted assassinations in Iran. Never before has the Indian government looked so timid and fearful,” he added.

Ramesh pointed out that the Iranian vessel had participated in the Indian Navy’s flagship multilateral naval exercise MILAN shortly before the attack. In a post on X, he said the exercise, first held in 1995, held its 13th edition in Visakhapatnam from 19-25 February this year with 18 warships from several countries, including the US and Iran. The exercise was inaugurated by defence minister Rajnath Singh.

“This makes yesterday's sinking of the Iranian warship that took part in the MILAN exercise by a US Navy submarine in the Indian Ocean some 40 nautical miles south of Galle in Sri Lanka all the more extraordinary. The Iranian warship was on its way back home,” Ramesh said.

In a significant escalation of the West Asia conflict, a US submarine on Wednesday torpedoed and sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in international waters about 40 nautical miles south of Galle off Sri Lanka’s coast as it was returning after participating in the MILAN naval exercise hosted by India.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike at a Pentagon briefing, saying it marked the first sinking of an enemy warship by a torpedo since World War II.

The Associated Press, quoting the Sri Lankan Navy, reported that 87 bodies had been recovered and 32 people rescued following the sinking of the vessel.

The incident marks a significant expansion of the confrontation between the US and Iran beyond the Persian Gulf and raises questions about maritime security in the Indian Ocean, a region often described as the strategic backyard of the Indian Navy.

The US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on 28 February, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since then, Iran has carried out retaliatory attacks targeting Israel and American military bases in several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.