Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a fierce attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (June 14), accusing him of acting like an “obedient servant” to the US. The criticism comes after the US statements following the killing of three Indian sailors in American attacks, a tragedy Rahul claims our “compromised PM” fails to stand up against and merely complies with “orders” from the US.
Rahul also said that “a compromised PM” will not defend the nation’s honour because he is beholden to those who insult the country.
US warns India
His remarks come a day after the US said it conveyed to India that any violation of its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio conveyed this to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who spoke with him on Friday to lodge a strong protest against the death of Indian nationals in US attacks on ships off the coast of Oman.
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In a post in Hindi on X, Rahul said, “Just days after three Indian sailors were killed in American attacks there is neither regret nor apology. On the contrary, the US continues to issue orders.” “Read their words: ‘Obey US military orders immediately.’ No violation ‘will be tolerated’,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
“A sovereign nation would never tolerate such language. But our compromised PM? Silent. He listens like an obedient servant and complies with the orders,” Rahul said.
US naval blockade
According to State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott, Secretary of State Rubio stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait.
Rubio underscored that violations of the US blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated, Pigott said in Washington.
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The US has imposed a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz since April 13, preventing transit of ships to and from the ports of the Islamic Republic as part of its efforts to restrict Tehran from profiting from oil trade.
India protests
Three vessels with Indian crew came under attack off the Oman coast this week. One of them resulted in the death of three Indian seafarers on Wednesday.
Jaishankar then called Rubio to protest their death in a US military strike on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman. Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified, Jaishankar had said in a post on X after he spoke with Rubio.
US blames Iran
Hours later, US President Donald Trump accused Iran of carrying out drone attacks against Indian ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz, saying it was totally unacceptable.
“Their (Iran’s) totally rebuffed Drone attack last night against Indian Ships leaving the Hormuz Strait is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. They better get their act together and FAST,” Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social.
Iran vehemently rejected Trump’s allegation.The US president’s accusation against Iran regarding an Indian vessel in the Strait of Hormuz is simply baseless, the Iranian Embassy in India said.
“It is an attempt to divert public attention from the brutal fact that the US has attacked 3 Indian vessels in less than a week and killed 3 innocent Indian sailors. That’s pathetic!” it said in a social media post late Friday night.
Shippings through the strait have been severely disrupted since February 28, when the US and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran, triggering retaliatory strikes. Disruptions in marine traffic continue even though a fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8.
(With agency inputs)
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