NEW DELHI: After US President Donald Trump once again claimed he directly mediated an India–Pakistan ceasefire, preventing a potential “nuclear war,” Congress MP Manickam Tagore lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence, calling it a “surrender” and demanding clarification.Also Read: Trump reiterates tariff forced India-Pakistan ceasefire; mentions 150m dollar planes went down In a post on X, Tagore wrote that India deserves a prime minister who can “speak for the nation with courage,” not one who “cowers in silence.”“Donald Trump has said it again. And yet—silence from PM Modi. When the Leader of Opposition (Congress’ Rahul Gandhi) asked in Parliament for just one word of clarification, Modi chose to stay mute. Modi, who speaks at length on anything and everything, falls completely silent when it comes to Trump’s repeated claims. Why this fear? Why this silence? If Trump is wrong, say it. If he is right, explain it. But Modi hides in silence while India’s credibility suffers. This is not statesmanship, it is surrender,” Tagore posted.
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The Congress has repeatedly attacked Modi for not countering Trump’s statements. New Delhi maintains that the ceasefire was a bilateral decision between India and Pakistan. The clashes, which broke out after a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, lasted from May 7–10. India retaliated with Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7. Fighting stopped on May 10 after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations contacted his Indian counterpart seeking a ceasefire.Trump’s fresh statementAddressing a cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump claimed he had spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he described as a “terrific man.”The US president said, “I’m talking to a very terrific man, Modi of India. I said, what’s going on with you and Pakistan? Then I spoke to Pakistan about trade. I said, what’s going on with you and India? This has been going on for a hell of a long time, sometimes under different names for hundreds of years.”Also Read: PM Modi avoided four Donald Trump calls, says German media as US-India ties sourHe added, “But I said, what’s going on? I said, I don’t want to make a trade deal…. I said, no, no, I don’t want to make a trade deal with you. You’re going to have a nuclear war. You guys are going to end up in a nuclear war. And that was very important to them. I said, call me back tomorrow, but we’re not going to do any deals with you, or we’re going to put tariffs on you that are so high. I don’t give a damn. Your head’s going to spin. You’re not going to end up in a war. Within about five hours, it was done. It was done. Now maybe it starts again, I don’t know. I don’t think so. But I’ll stop it if it does. We can’t let these things happen.”Trump also repeated his claim that at least seven fighter jets or more were shot down during the hostilities, saying, “I saw they were fighting, then I saw seven jets were shot down…you know, $150 million planes were shot down. A lot of them. Seven, maybe more than that. They didn’t even report the real number.”Also Read: ‘7 jets downed’, says Trump as he once again rakes up India-Pakistan conflictPreviously, Trump had put the number of downed aircraft at five, without clarifying whether they belonged to India, Pakistan, or both.