Indira 'literally begged' Nixon to intervene in '71 Pak war: BJP

NEW DELHI: BJP Lok Sabha members on Wednesday raised questions over the conduct of former PM Indira Gandhi during the 1971 war with Pakistan, claiming she had "literally begged" then US President Richard Nixon's to intervene.

In a letter to Speaker Om Birla, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused LoP Rahul Gandhi of using "distorted and inaccurate facts", a day after the Congress neta said if PM Modi had "even 50% courage of Indira", then he must announce that US President Trump is a liar and did not force the Operation Sindoor "ceasefire".

Raising the issue in zero hour in LS, BJP member Anurag Thakur said Indian soldiers won the 1971 war but "someone else" was declared the "Iron Lady". He claimed the war was won on the battlefield but lost at the negotiation table.

While Thakur flagged Indira's letter to Nixon on Dec 5, 1971, in the House, Dubey attached a copy of it in his letter to Birla.

Thakur read out the letter, wherein Indira urged Nixon to persuade Pakistan to desist forthwith from the policy of wanton aggression and military adventurism. "The nation has to decide whether the govt of that day was 'iron or an irony'," he said, amid protests from Congress members.

Urging Birla to reprimand Rahul for his "habitual delinquency" and highlighting the letter to Nixon, Dubey said, "She had literally begged before him to use his influence to stop the war with Pakistan." Rahul has once again "unabashedly betrayed" public trust by twisting well-documented historical facts, which has become his "habit to glorify his family", Dubey said.

Thakur wondered whether Indira did not trust the armed forces and chose to plead with the US to halt the war. "Why did she approach the US?" he asked.

Putting up inaccurate facts is a straight case of violation of speaker's directions, Dubey said and alleged Rahul has an "uncanny habit of making false claims".