Congress questions PM Modi’s silence on sailors’ killing in US strike

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was maintaining silence on the killing of three Indian sailors off the coast of Oman in the recent US strike on an oil tanker. Party leader Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, accused the PM of “obediently” listening to the unrepentant US response to the incident.

The Opposition party has raked up the issue ahead of Modi’s likely meeting with President Donald Trump in France on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

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“I join the nation in mourning the loss of the three Indian seafarers. Three days have passed since this tragic incident. Yet, there has been no public statement at all or even a condolence message from PM Narendra Modi. The nation was waiting for it, Modiji. You spoke about ‘not allowing the nation to bow’, but no proof is now required that you have belittled India’s global standing and sovereignty,” Kharge said.

Targeting the prime minister over the incident and by referring to the US statement that any violation of its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and “illicit” transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated, Gandhi 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… A sovereign nation would never tolerate such language. But our compromised PM? Silent. He listens like an obedient servant and complies with the orders.”