NEW DELHI, July 19 — The Congress on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi issue a clear statement in Parliament on US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of mediating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, after Trump once again claimed that the US “stopped a lot of wars” — including a potentially nuclear conflict between the two South Asian neighbours.
“Just two days before the Monsoon Session begins, the Trump missile has been fired for the 24th time,” Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, adding that President Trump continues to assert Washington helped avert war between the nuclear-armed rivals.
In his latest remarks, Trump claimed: “India and Pakistan were going at it, planes were being shot down — five jets, I think — and we got it solved through trade. We told them: No trade deal if you’re throwing around weapons.”
Calling the comments “sensational,” Ramesh said, “The Prime Minister, who has had years of friendship and huglomacy with President Trump going back to Howdy Modi and Namaste Trump, must now come forward and categorically address these claims in Parliament.”
Trump’s assertions date back to May 10, when he posted on social media that a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan had been reached after a night of backchannel talks mediated by Washington. Since then, he has reiterated the claim multiple times, insisting that the threat of escalation, including nuclear conflict, was defused with US intervention.
The Congress party has been urging the Prime Minister to respond directly in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
India, however, has maintained that the ceasefire understanding was reached independently through direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both militaries.
According to official sources, during a nearly 35-minute phone call with Trump last month, Modi is said to have firmly conveyed that India does not accept any form of third-party mediation on its bilateral matters with Pakistan.
The ceasefire followed Operation Sindoor, launched by India on May 7 in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. After four days of cross-border strikes targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, India and Pakistan announced a cessation of hostilities on May 10.
With the Monsoon Session of Parliament set to begin in two days, the Congress said the nation deserves clarity on what role, if any, the US played — and whether the Prime Minister concurs with Trump’s narrative.
