New Delhi: The Congress Sunday demanded a special session of Parliament to discuss what it called “attempts to internationalise” India’s dispute with Pakistan, citing the involvement of the United States in the ceasefire announced Saturday between the two neighbours.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sought to downplay Washington’s role in brokering the ceasefire, saying the two countries had reached an “agreement”. It also took on the Congress for drawing a contrast between the current conflict and the 1971 war under Indira Gandhi, claiming that she “mishandled” the decisive victory won by the Indian armed forces.
Addressing a press conference, Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot said the Centre should come clean on whether it has accepted the “mediation” by the United States in getting New Delhi and Islamabad to stop military action.
“The social media announcement from Washington raised many questions. Till two days ago, the US maintained it (India-Pakistan dispute) was none of its business. And then they announce a ceasefire. On what conditions has the US made this announcement? Their statements refer to Kashmir and talks at a neutral site… this is an attempt to hyphenate India and Pakistan,” Pilot said.
Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday placing the “unanimous request of the Opposition” to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the “Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor and today’s ceasefire, first announced by US President Trump”.
Pilot, who also demanded an all-party meeting with the PM in attendance, also referred to the 1994 unanimous resolution of the Indian Parliament seeking to take back the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He said time had come to reaffirm that unanimous resolution which had been supported by every party and member of the Parliament then.
Pilot recalled that during the 1971 India-Pakistan war, the US had deployed its Seventh Fleet on the Bay of Bengal in a perceived attempt to force India to dial down its military offensive. “Despite that the then government and Indira ji did what was in the supreme national interest. And today we remember that leadership,” Pilot said.
Even on Saturday, following the announcement of the ceasefire, several Congress leaders had made comparisons to the 1971 war led by Indira Gandhi as prime minister, saying that she would have never allowed the US to intervene in the dispute between the two neighbours.
“Now is also the time to recall what happened in the second week of Dec 1971, which is well documented. The Nixon-Kissinger duo sent a nuclear-powered and nuclear-weapon capable US naval task force of its Seventh Fleet led by the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise into the Bay of Bengal. Indira Gandhi was undeterred. Pakistan surrendered on Dec 16th, 1971,” Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh posted on ‘X’.
Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma sought to counter the Congress, claiming that India’s military triumph in 1971 was not matched by strategic foresight. Had Indira Gandhi been alive today, the nation would have questioned her for “mishandling” the decisive victory won by our armed forces, according to him.
“What could have been a new regional order was reduced to a one-sided act of generosity.
The creation of Bangladesh was not a bargain — it was a historic opportunity lost,” Sarma wrote in a long post on X titled ‘The Myth of Bangladesh’s Creation: A Strategic Triumph, A Diplomatic Folly’.
“India’s 1971 military victory was decisive and historic. It broke Pakistan in two and gave birth to Bangladesh. But while our soldiers delivered a stunning battlefield success, India’s political leadership failed to secure lasting strategic gains. The creation of Bangladesh is often hailed as a diplomatic triumph — but history tells a different story,” Sarma posted.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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