Congress slams PM over Trump 'role', seeks answers on mediation

NEW DELHI: Congress accused PM Narendra Modi of staying mum on President Donald Trump's revelations that he used "trade" as the chip to force an Indo-Pak ceasefire, saying it completely upstaged Modi's "much-delayed address to the nation" and asked if India will now buckle under the US demands for opening key sectors of the domestic market. Congress said it salutes the armed forces for their services, but the PM has a lot to answer for.

Referring to Trump's latest video remarks after the PM's address, party spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said, "Has India agreed to US mediation? Has India agreed to a 'neutral site' for a dialogue with Pakistan? Will India now give in on US demands for opening Indian markets in autos, agriculture, and other areas?" He demanded that Modi immediately call an all-party meeting which he has "studiously avoided" in the past 20 days.

Ramesh mocked that the coming months will demand "both painstaking diplomacy and a collective resolve" for which "one-liners and dialogue-baazi are poor substitutes".

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has conveyed that the party will boycott any all-party meeting that is not chaired by the PM, informed general secretary Bhupesh Baghel as he reiterated the demand for the meeting and also a special parliament session.

Baghel said the US president's announcement on ceasefire is a "failure of (Indian) diplomacy". He added, "We were fighting terrorism. How did Kashmir come in between? Trump said Kashmir is a 1,000 year old problem and we cannot even rebuff that comment. That's our situation (now)."