'India Never Asked Trump To Mediate': Shashi Tharoor Counters Rahul Gandhi's 'Surrender' Remark, Reveals Lauds 'Operation Sindoor' In US

Washington, DC: After Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's comment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "surrendered" during last month's conflict between India and Pakistan, MP Shashi Tharoor, drew a firm line under the controversy with his response.

Tharoor, who is currently leading an all-party parliamentary delegation in Washington DC, refuted former US President Donald Trump’s past claims about India inviting mediation in its conflict with Pakistan, and stressed that New Delhi has never asked for outside intervention.

Speaking at a press briefing in Washington on Thursday, Tharoor responded to a flurry of questions around Trump’s previous assertion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sought his help to mediate on Kashmir. “We have enormous respect for the American Presidency and the American President. All we can say for ourselves is that we have never particularly wanted to ask anyone to mediate,” Tharoor said.

He added that India’s position has always been consistent, that dialogue with Pakistan can only take place in an atmosphere free of terror. “I think the US has understood for some time now that India has a very clear position that there will be no talks with a gun pointed at our head,” he said.

Tharoor, known for his diplomatic nuance, also offered a sharp remark about India’s readiness for dialogue, saying, “We can speak all the languages they (Pakistan) can speak and we’re very happy to dialogue with them in any of those languages.”

Tharoor also disclosed key details of Operation Sindoor, India’s military retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 and injured many more. The Congress MP revealed that Indian forces struck 11 Pakistani military airfields on May 9 in what turned out to be the final night of hostilities.

“Publicly available satellite imagery shows extensive damage – craters on runways, operational command centres bombed,” he said. Tharoor further claimed that Pakistan had quietly requested India to halt operations on May 10 after assessing the wide-ranging damage.

Referring to a leaked Pakistani dossier, Tharoor added, “Pakistan itself acknowledged that Indian strikes were so widespread they ranged from Hyderabad in the south to Peshawar in the northwest.”

The all-party delegation, which previously visited Brazil, is in the US to clarify India’s position on terrorism and brief American stakeholders about the objectives and outcomes of Operation Sindoor.