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Rahul Gandhi’s remarks alleging that PM Modi had surrendered after a call from Donald Trump in the recent conflict with Pakistan made headlines in the neighbouring country.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi | PTI Image/File
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his “surrender” jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection to the ceasefire announced after Operation Sindoor.
Rahul Gandhi stirred a controversy on Tuesday after he alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi surrendered after a call from US President Donald Trump during the India-Pakistan military conflict. His remarks sparked massive backlash as the BJP accused him of speaking Pakistan’s language.
Rahul Gandhi’s “surrender” jibe even made headlines in Pakistani media, threatening India’s recent diplomatic outreach against terrorism, with Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif falsely claiming that India had accepted that it had surrendered. Despite the backlash, the Congress doubled down on the remarks by posting an image of a Trump MAGA cap, which said, “Narender Surrender”.
Reacting to the controversy, Kiren Rijiju said, “There is also a limit to stupidity and opposition! There’s nobody in Congress Party to tell him that being in the Opposition Party does not mean, to oppose the nation?”
He also retweeted a post lauding former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who criticised Rahul Gandhi’s policies and said he wanted to become the Prime Minister after working for only 20 minutes.
मूर्खता और विरोध की भी एक सीमा होती है!There’s nobody in Congress Party to tell him that being in the Opposition Party does not mean, to oppose the nation? https://t.co/0Y2rtJRjBC pic.twitter.com/2oUNxAnlPA
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) June 5, 2025
What Did Rahul Gandhi Say?
Addressing a party convention in Bhopal, Rahul Gandhi said the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, didn’t budge in the 1971 war despite the US sending its Seventh Fleet.
“A call came from Trump and Narendra ji immediately surrendered – history is a witness, this is the character of BJP-RSS, they always bow down,” Rahul stated after launching the Congress’s ‘Sangthan Srijan Abhiyan’ in Bhopal. Rahul said that India split Pakistan in 1971 despite America’s threat.
The remarks sparked widespread outrage, with the BJP saying that the Congress leader lacks the seriousness and maturity that the post requires. “By making extremely cheap, low-level statements, the self-proclaimed, self-styled, supreme leader, the leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, is telling the world that even after becoming the LoP, he lacks the seriousness and maturity that the post requires,” said BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi.
BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya, in an X post, wrote, “History will remember: From Doklam to Pahalgam, whenever India stood united to defend its sovereignty and rise as a global power, Rahul Gandhi, true to the legacy of his lineage, chose to stand with forces opposed to India’s political and economic resurgence.”
Even Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who was part of India’s diplomatic outreach, rejected the allegations, saying India never asked anyone to mediate in its conflict with Pakistan. It was Pakistan who requested India to stop its operations, he said.
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
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