Indian opposition parties called for transparency from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed to have played a role in brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Modi's address to the nation, in which he praised India's "victory" in recent exchanges, omitted a response to Trump's comments, thus amplifying concerns regarding an apparent shift in India's longstanding policy of refusing third-party help in bilateral disputes.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh was intently critical of Modi for failing to address issues related to the U.S. mediation. He reiterated that the problem was transparency. "Has India agreed to any neutral site for any dialogue or third-party mediation?" he raised, along with the call for Modi to call an all-party meeting.
Citing the same concerns, Congress spokesperson, Randeep Surjewala, and CPI(M) leader, M.A. Baby, called Trump's announcement of a ceasefire "alarming" and brought parliamentary oversight into concern.
Opposition leaders like Rashtriya Janata Dal's Manoj Jha and AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi called for a special parliamentary session to address allegations of U.S. involvement. Owaisi pressed, "If talks are taking place in neutral territory, what does that say about Trump's role? Are we internationalizing Kashmir?" India's critics recalled the 1972 Simla Agreement, which rejects third-party intervention in Kashmir.
Trump's claim that dealings concerning trade were the reason for the ceasefire has created even greater discontent. Opposition members, apart from intellectuals, accused Modi of giving away Indian sovereignty with mediation that was allegedly offered by an outside country.
Jha argued that Modi should "send a loud message" to the U.S. Baby cautioned that Trump's current claims could undermine India's principle of resolving issues bilaterally.