NEW DELHI: A day after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, in Lok Sabha, dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rebut US President Donald Trump’s India-Pakistan ceasefire claims, the Congress leader on Wednesday said that the PM cannot reveal the truth, because if he does so, the American leader will lay bare the truth.His remark came hours before Trump slapped a 25% tariff on imports from India ‘plus a penalty’ for buying Russian oil, weapons, and ‘obnoxious’ trade barriers. On Tuesday, Trump had reiterated his claim about playing a role in bringing about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Asked about Trump’s latest remarks repeating his claims, Rahul said, “It is obvious, the PM has not said that Trump is lying. It is obvious what has happened. Everyone knows he is not able to say it. That is the reality.”“If the prime minister says it then Trump will say it openly and will lay bare the truth so that is why the PM is not able to say anything,” he said.Gandhi said Trump is making the 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.Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the PM “doesn’t have the guts to tell Trump that he is lying and that there is something fishy”.“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 Parliament.
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