New Delhi: An India-Pakistan agreement about sharing information about military movement—signed by the Chandrashekhar-led government in 1991 and enforced by the Narasimha Rao-led government in 1994—has become the center of a fresh political row, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party terming the agreement as “deshdroh” or treason.
Chandrashekhar’s son, Neeraj Shekhar, is currently a BJP leader, and the Narendra Modi-led government also conferred the Bharat Ratna on Narasimha Rao last year, but the BJP is trying to make a larger argument by harking back to the agreement.
The political storm erupted after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey launched a blistering attack on the Congress party. “The Congress, in 1991, supported the Chandrashekhar government that backed the pact. Later, the Congress-led Narasimha Rao government in 1994 implemented the pact requiring India to share army, navy and air force movement details with Pakistan. This is treason, and those responsible must face trial,” he said.
The BJP parliamentarian escalated his charges, stating, “Congress compromised national security for vote bank politics … severed India’s strategic autonomy. Isn’t sharing military deployment plans with Pakistan treason? We demand treason charges against those behind this agreement—an FIR against the Congress party.”
Speaking to the media Friday, Nishikant Dubey, a part of the Sindoor outreach delegation, directly challenged Rahul Gandhi: “Congress has always been complicit in Pakistani interests. How then can you question Foreign Minister Jaishankar’s integrity?”
Nishikant Dubey was referring to a controversy that originated last week when Rahul Gandhi accused External Affairs Minister Jaishankar of leaking the details of Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliatory military action after the Pahalgam terror attack, to Pakistan.
Dubbing Jaishankar as “JJ”, Rahul Gandhi had said: “Why has India been hyphenated with Pakistan? Why did not a single country back us in condemning Pakistan? Who asked Trump to ‘mediate’ between India & Pakistan? India’s foreign policy has collapsed.”
In response to Dubey’s allegations, Congress leaders mounted a vigorous defence. Spokesperson Pawan Khera said, “Dubey seems unaware that Congress withdrew support from the Chandrashekhar government in February 1991, before the 6 April 1991 agreement. The 10th Lok Sabha elections had already been announced. For accurate information, he should consult his party colleague Neeraj Shekhar.”
Nishikant Dubey countered, saying the agreement was ratified in August 1992 under Congress rule, but Pawan Khera rebutted: “This pact specifically governs peacetime military exercises, explicitly mentioning ‘training maneuvers’ and ‘routine troop movements’—not operations or war details. The real question is why Modi government informed Pakistan about Operation Sindoor in advance? What were the ceasefire terms?”
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate similarly wrote on X, “Well, this time, while showing its ignorance, BJP has accepted that Foreign Minister Jaishankar gave advance information to Pakistan about the attack of our army. The agreement whose details Degree Dubey is giving was for peacetime—not for spying in case of war. And lastly, Rajiv Gandhi had withdrawn his support from Chandrashekhar’s government on 6 March 1991. This agreement is dated 6 April 1991.”
Attack on policy decisions
Digging into the Congress’s historical Pakistan policy decisions, Nishikant Dubey shared documents on X Saturday, alleging: “After winning the 1965 war, the party gave away 828 sq km of Rann of Kutch in Gujarat to Pakistan in 1968. We took the India-Pakistan issue to the international forum, [and] appointed Yugoslavia’s lawyer Ali Babar as a mediator.”
“The entire Parliament opposed it. But Indira Gandhi was the Iron Lady; she auctioned our share out of fear. This is the truth of the Iron Lady. Congress’s hand is always with Pakistan,” Nishikant Dubey added in the post.
On X, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya named Operation Brasstacks (1986-87), accusing Rajiv Gandhi of compromising India’s security.
Sharing a clipping of an India Today article, Amit Malviya stated: “In 1986–87, General K. Sundarji, one of India’s most visionary military leaders, launched Operation Brasstacks, a massive four-phase military exercise near the Rajasthan-Pakistan border. Designed to test mobile warfare, agility, and mechanisation, the operation involved nearly 500,000 troops.”
Amit Malviya wrote that India formally informed Pakistan about the operation, and PM Rajiv Gandhi assured the then-PM of Pakistan Junejo that it was “just an exercise”. However, Pakistan moved offensive troops right up to Indian Punjab’s border, while “Khalistani extremists” announced a separatist movement, and India stood on the brink of civil unrest.
Rajiv Gandhi “finally” deployed troops but soon backtracked on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s request, Amit Malviya wrote, adding that Gandhi later blamed General Sunderji and then-MoS for Defence Arun Singh for the missteps, claiming he was “in the dark”. He also invited Zia-ul-Haq to a cricket match in India, and “the appeasement culminated in the 1988 Indo-Pak agreement to avoid attacks on each other’s nuclear facilities, fulfilling what Zia had started”.
Circling back to the point the BJP is trying to make, Amit Malviya added: “This is the Gandhi legacy on national security—flip-flops, appeasement, and scapegoats … Before lecturing the nation on military operations like Operation Sindoor, Rahul Gandhi should revisit how his family repeatedly compromised India’s strategic interests—all for diplomacy dressed as surrender.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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