New Delhi: Rajya Sabha BJD member Sasmit Patra Wednesday asked the government if it has formally engaged with the US administration to seek clarity on why President Donald Trump continues to make public references of negotiating ceasefire with Pakistan.
Participating a special discussion on ‘Operation Sindoor’ in the Upper House, Patra, who was part of an all-party delegation that went abroad to convey India’s position against terrorism following Operation Sindoor, said as an Indian he accepts the government’s statement that “there was no phone call made by the President of the United States to the Indian Prime Minister between April 22 and June 17, 2025”.
“That in itself speaks to the autonomy and independence with which India conducted Operation Sindoor,” said Patra, who visited the UAE, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, in the wake of Operation Sindoor as a member of an all-party delegation.
However, he added, “But given this reality, I ask with utmost sincerity, has India formally engaged with the United States administration to seek clarity on why the US President continues to make public references to a ceasefire one in which, by all accounts, neither him nor his administration played any active role.”
In response, Ashokrao Shankarrao Chavan (BJP) said, “It is surprising that the statement of our country’s prime minister is not given any importance… they (opposition) believe in what Trump says but don’t believe what our system says.”
Chavan also accused the Opposition of not even trusting the country’s armed forces.
“Keep the political system aside but they do not trust the briefing given by our defence forces or officers,” he claimed.
Sanjay Raut (SS-UBT) said so far the government has not been able to tell how the Pahalgam terror attack happened and demanded resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah, saying since Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) has become a Union Territory after the abrogation of Article 370, its has come under the Centre and its police follow instructions of the home ministry.
“In this country within 24 hours the resignation of the Vice-President is taken because he does not follow your instructions but even after the killing of 26 people, there is no resignation and no apologies from anyone. This is the situation of the country,” he added.
Independent member Ajit Kumar Bhuyan also sought to know how President Trump announced ceasefire and stated that no one from the government has replied how the terrorists entered to carry out the Pahalgam attack.
Javed Ali Khan (SP) said the discussion should have been on the Pahalgam attack, how and why it happened as no one has raised a question on Operation Sindoor, its success and the role played by the armed forces.
Dinesh Sharma (BJP) said Operation Sindoor is a reflection of new India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it will not shy away from giving the right response to terror.
IUML member Haris Beeran said the government needs to answer claims by Trump regarding the ceasefire.
KR Suresh Reddy of BRS said if the government would have allowed the operation to continue for two-three more days it would have devastated the enemy.
Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said internal accountability needs to be fixed as there was an intelligence failure that led to the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
She noted that there is a need to completely put an end on playing cricket with Pakistan.
Kiran Choudhry and Rekha Sharma of BJP also participated in the discussion.
PTI
