Why this thundering silence, Congress wants to know after US President reiterates claims on ceasefire

Hours after US President Donald Trump repeated his claim that he had settled the recent conflict between India and Pakistan through the promise of trade, the Congress party on Thursday, 22 May, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not rejected such statements even once and asked why this "thundering silence".

Congress' general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that for the eighth time in 11 days, President Trump has claimed full credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, praised the PMs of India and Pakistan equally and put them on par in every way, while reiterating that trade with the US was instrumental in getting the two counties to declare a ceasefire.

"Yet our PM -- Donald bhai's great buddy -- is completely silent on what the US President is repeatedly saying. The External Affairs Minister also continues to maintain complete quiet on what his pal, the US Secretary of State, has said in support of the US President's claims and about the 'neutral site' for talks between India and Pakistan," Ramesh said in a post on X.

Why this thundering silence, he asked.

Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera also said this is the eighth time President Trump has made this claim that he got Operation Sindoor stopped.

"He claims to have used trade to get India to end Operation Sindoor. Prime Minister Modi has not rejected this claim even once. What does this silence mean?" Khera said in a post on X.

In his remarks in the Oval Office during a meeting with visiting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trump said, "If you take a look at what we just did with Pakistan and India. We settled that whole, and I think I settled it through trade."

India carried out precision strikes under Operation Sindoor on terror infrastructure early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the military confrontation.

On May 10, Trump had announced that India and Pakistan agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire after a long night of talks "mediated" by Washington.