Indian opposition wants answers from govt over ceasefire

KARACHI: With US President Donald Trump announcing a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, India’s opposition leaders have voiced strong reactions, questioning the Indian government’s strategy, diplomatic handling and the role of a foreign leader in ending the hostilities.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, led the charge by calling for an immediate special session of parliament. In a letter addressed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi cited the recent Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor and the Trump-announced ceasefire as matters demanding urgent attention. “This will also be an opportunity to demonstrate our collective resolve to meet the challenges ahead”, Gandhi wrote, emphasising the need for parliamentary debate and accountability.

The Indian National Congress echoed this demand on social media: “Rahul Gandhi writes to PM Modi, reiterating the unanimous request of the Opposition to convene a special session of Parliament immediately to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor and the India-Pakistan ceasefire, first announced by US President Trump.”

Congress president and leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, also posted a similar letter on social media, reinforcing the party’s united front.

Congress’s Sachin Pilot too saw Trump’s post as a “surprise”, calling it “an attempt to internationalise the Kashmir issue”.

Outside the Congress, reactions varied somewhat. Aam Aadmi Party’s Chief National Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar expressed outrage over what she termed a loss of sovereignty: “140 crore Indians were with the PM in this war between humanity and terrorism, but now we all feel cheated that how a foreign power put a full stop on our internal matter... The PM should address the nation and explain why a foreign power did this, supersede the Indian government, and can we trust Pakistan after such a ceasefire?” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

While many opposition leaders were critical, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, welcomed the ceasefire. Expressing cautious optimism, Stalin paid tribute to India’s armed forces and said the ceasefire was a step towards peace.

Congress MP and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor did appreciate the ceasefire but added: “We need to have more details, but I am very glad. India never wanted a long-term war, but India wanted to teach terrorists a lesson, I believe that lesson has been taught.”

Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, however, echoed Gandhi’s concerns, stating he felt “unsettled” by the fact that a foreign head of state had been the one to announce the ceasefire. He too called for a special session of parliament to address the implications of the move.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also demanded an all-party conference and said that Modi no longer has the right to remain in power. He also asked for Home Minister Amit Shah to resign immediately.

Prominent journalist and Founding Editor of The Wire, Siddharth Varadarajan, offered a scathing analysis of the government’s handling of the entire crisis. In a widely shared post on X, he wrote: “The Modi government is welcome to spin this any way it likes – i e that it is the Pakistanis who went running to the US saying ‘save us’, that India accomplished all that it set out to – but the reality is that Modi did something that has produced an unsavoury but quite predictable end result.

“Pakistan now believes J&K is back in play as an international issue and the US is also saying this. The Indian side has suffered military losses that it is reluctant to quantify... RW zealots are angry with Modi because they believe he lacks the courage to follow through on his promised military solution.

“The truth is that Modi knew all along that there is no military solution... Take all of this together and one conclusion stares you in the face: the Pakistani military and ‘non-state actors’ are not likely to feel particularly deterred by the events of the past week and may even be emboldened to be more adventurist.”