Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that “India’s foreign policy has collapsed” and asked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to explain New Delhi’s global standing after Operation Sindoor.

In a social media post, Gandhi shared a video clip of Jaishankar answering questions in an interview to Dutch broadcaster NOS on the Pahalgam terror attack and the military tensions between India and Pakistan.

“Why has India been hyphenated with Pakistan?” the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha asked Jaishankar in the post. “Why didn’t a single country back us in condemning Pakistan? Who asked [US President Donald] Trump to ‘mediate’ between India and Pakistan?”

The tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad escalated on May 7 when the Indian military carried out strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The strikes were in response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which killed 26 persons on April 22.

The Pakistan Army retaliated to Indian strikes by repeatedly shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 22 Indian civilians and seven defence personnel were killed.

On May 10, India and Pakistan reached an “understanding” to halt firing following a four-day conflict.

New Delhi’s announcement on the decision to stop military action came minutes after Trump claimed on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to the ceasefire.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had claimed at the time that New Delhi and Islamabad had agreed to “start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site”.

The US president has repeated several times his claim that the talks were mediated by Washington.

However, India has said that the decision to stop firing was taken bilaterally and that there was no intervention by the US.

https://x.com/RahulGandhi/status/1925827704382746854

On Thursday too, Gandhi had accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “compromising with India’s honour”.

“Modi ji, stop giving hollow speeches,” he had said on X. “Just tell me: Why did you believe Pakistan’s statement on terrorism? Why did you sacrifice India’s interests by bowing to Trump? Why does your blood boil only in front of cameras?”

The Congress leader was responding to Modi’s speech in Rajasthan’s Bikaner earlier on Thursday, where the prime minister claimed that after Operation Sindoor, the enemies knew what had happened when vermilion turned into gunpowder.

‘Careless statement’, says BJP

On Friday, the Bharatiya Janata Party criticised Gandhi for his comments.

BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia said at a press conference that Gandhi was “giving careless statements” when Operation Sindoor was going on.

The BJP leader claimed that Gandhi “seemed to be busy in conversations with Pakistan on how to weaken India and the morale of the forces”.

Gandhi can ask questions during an all-party meeting or the external affairs ministry briefing, he added.

“But such activities by Rahul Gandhi are not innocent,” Bhatia claimed. “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.”