Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot outrightly state that United States President Donald Trump has been lying about brokering a ceasefire deal between India and Pakistan, as that would prompt the American leader to “lay bare the truth”, reported ANI.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, the leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said: “The prime minister has not said that Trump is lying. It is obvious what has happened. Everyone knows, he is not able to say it. That is the reality.”

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he helped India and Pakistan settle the border tensions in May. The US president has also claimed that he pressured both countries into accepting the ceasefire by threatening to stop trade with them.

New Delhi has rejected Trump’s assertions.

Gandhi said on Wednesday that Trump was repeating his claims to pressure New Delhi on a trade deal that is in the works.

“Just watch how the trade deal turns out,” he added.

On Tuesday, speaking during a debate on the Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent Operation Sindoor, Gandhi asked the prime minister to “show courage” and clarify if Trump was lying about mediating the ceasefire deal.

“Donald Trump has said 29 times that he brought about the ceasefire,” Gandhi said. “If he is lying… let the prime minister say he is lying. If he has the courage of Indira Gandhi, let him say here that Donald Trump is a liar.”

Modi told the Lok Sabha later that no country told India to halt its military operation against terror bases in Pakistan.

A day earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told Parliament that there was no call between Modi and Trump during the Indian military 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 eight defence personnel were killed.

India and Pakistan on May 10 reached an “understanding” to halt firing following the four-day conflict.

On Tuesday, Trump said that the trade deal with India had not been finalised and New Delhi could be hit with a tariff rate of 20% to 25%.

Trump added that the final rate of levy had also not been finalised as India and the US were negotiating the agreement ahead of the August 1 deadline.

The US president made the comments while responding to reporters’ questions about the so-called reciprocal tariffs Washington plans to reimpose on dozens of countries that have not negotiated separate trade agreements with the US by August 1.

Trump announced higher levies in April, before pausing those tariffs at a reduced 10% rate to allow time for negotiations. Despite an extended deadline, he has only secured a handful of deals.

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