NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar launched a veiled attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his party colleagues in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, indirectly referring to them as the new “China gurus” who acquired their knowledge of China by attending the Beijing Olympics and receiving “special private tuitions” from the Chinese Ambassador. Jaishankar asserted that there was no third-party involvement in securing a ceasefire with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. He said unlike “China gurus”, he held no secret meetings during his recent visit to China, but rather openly discussed matters related to terrorism and trade. Launching a scathing counter-attack on the Opposition, Jaishankar dismissed claims of any US mediation in the India-Pakistan ceasefire. “Main unko kehna chahta hoon, woh kaan kholke sun le. April 22 se 16 June 16 tak, ek bhi phone call President Trump aur Prime Minister Modi ke beech mein nahi hua (I want them to listen carefully, from April 22 to June 16, not a single phone call took place between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi),” the minister said. The EAM also dismissed Trump’s long-standing claim of brokering peace between India and Pakistan, reiterating that there was no third-party intervention. “All countries that contacted us were told clearly that we are not open to mediation. If the fighting was to stop, Pakistan must make the request through the DGMO channel, and only then”. However, he admitted that on May 9, US Vice President JD Vance had telephonically alerted PM Modi about an impending large-scale Pakistani attack. “But on this, PM Modi responded firmly saying, ‘Hum goli ka jawab gole se denge agar Pakistan aisa kiya tho’ (We will respond to bullets with shells if Pakistan dares to do it),” Jaishankar said. Touching upon the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), he declared, “Blood and water will not flow together,” and elaborated on India’s rationale for suspending the Treaty with Pakistan. He stated that the Modi government has corrected the mistakes of Nehru-era policies, describing the IWT—signed by then PM Jawaharlal Nehru—not as a step towards peace, but an act of appeasement.Jaishankar claimed that India succeeded in getting the UN to officially recognise the Resistance Front as a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.‘No call between Modi & Trump’Launching a counter-attack on the Opposition Jaishankar dismissed claims of any US mediation in the India-Pakistan ceasefire. “I want them to listen carefully, from April 22 to June 16, not a single phone call took place between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi.”
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