India’s Foreign Policy Under Scrutiny as Rahul Gandhi Challenges EAM Over Operation Sindoor

New Delhi: Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has sparked a political debate by accusing the Narendra Modi government of a collapse in India’s foreign policy. On Friday, he demanded that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar address three key questions regarding the country’s global standing following Operation Sindoor and the ongoing tensions with Pakistan.

“Will JJ explain: Why has India been hyphenated with Pakistan? Why didn’t a single country back us in condemning Pakistan? Who asked Trump to ‘mediate’ between India & Pakistan?” Gandhi wrote on social media, asserting that “India’s foreign policy has collapsed.”

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has retaliated, accusing Gandhi of undermining national security and the morale of the Armed Forces with his statements. BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia emphasized that Gandhi’s questions were inappropriate given the current situation, particularly during Operation Sindoor.

“When Operation Sindoor is going on, Rahul Gandhi is giving careless statements. He is asking how many IAF jets are down. On May 11, during a press briefing, Air Marshal Bharti said, ‘We are in a combat scenario, it is not prudent for us to answer that question,'” Bhatia stated. He further accused Gandhi of being indifferent to the safety of 140 crore Indians and the Prime Minister.

“You can ask any question in an all-party meeting of the MEA briefing. Your questions can be answered. But such activities by Rahul Gandhi are not innocent. This cannot be neglected by calling it Rahul Gandhi’s childlike, for which he is known. When it is about the nation, every statement holds weight, and will be exposed if it causes harm to the country… Why has Rahul Gandhi started hating 140 crore Indians while hating PM Modi?” Bhatia added.

“At Rahul Gandhi’s instructions, Mallikarjun Kharge said that Operation Sindoor is a small war. Looking at Congress’s character and careless attitude, it is not wrong to say that if anyone is betraying India, then it is Rahul Gandhi,” he concluded.

These accusations come after Gandhi claimed that the Centre informed Pakistan “at the start” of Operation Sindoor and described this as a “crime” rather than a “lapse.” The BJP has labeled Gandhi’s statements as “sinister,” with Amit Malviya of the party stating that “Rahul Gandhi’s daftness is not merely incidental — it is sinister. He is speaking the language of Pakistan.”

The Ministry of External Affairs has refuted Gandhi’s claims, calling it a “misrepresentation of facts.” The MEA clarified that the government had warned Pakistan during the “early phase after Operation Sindoor’s commencement,” not before it began. It noted that Jaishankar had stated, “We had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Op Sindoor’s commencement.”

“This is being falsely represented as a warning issued before the commencement. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out,” the ministry added.

Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7, targeting terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.