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Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday attacked the BJP-led Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing them of “not defending the country’s honour” over US Navy strikes on an oil ship in the Gulf that killed three Indian seafarers.
The ship, MT Settebello, was targeted on Wednesday after US forces alleged that it had breached the naval blockade currently imposed on Iranian ports. Among the 24 Indian crew members aboard the vessel, 21 were rescued, while the remaining three were later declared dead.
ALSO READ | US ignores India’s concerns; Rubio says blockade violations won’t be tolerated
Marine engineer Patnala Suresh, 44, from Visakhapatnam; Shivanand Chaurasia, 38, from Surauli village in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria district; and Aditya Sharma, 23, from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, were first reported missing before their deaths were confirmed.
Notably, after external affairs minister S Jaishankar spoke to US secretary of state Marco Rubio regarding the deaths of three Indian seafarers, the US state department said in a readout of the conversation that commercial vessels must follow instructions issued by American forces. It also warned that any breach of the US blockade on Iranian ports “will not be tolerated”.
Rahul Gandhi led the charge in attacks targeting the Centre over the message and what he described as its “compliance with orders issued by the US”.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “Just days after the murder of three Indian sailors in American attacks – no remorse, no apology. On the contrary, America has continued issuing orders.”
He added, “Read their words: ‘Comply immediately with the orders of the US military.’ No violation ‘will be tolerated.’”
The Congress leader criticised Modi, calling him a “compromised PM” and accusing him of “not defending the country’s honour”.
“A free country would never tolerate such language. But our Compromised PM? Silent. They listen like an obedient servant and comply with the orders. Compromised PM will not defend the country’s honour–because those who insult the country have him under their control,” he said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the prime minister for issuing “no public statement at all or even a condolence message” on the incident. He further alleged that Modi was “belittling India’s global standing and sovereignty.”
“Our National interests are being surrendered on a daily basis. And you have the audacity to sugarcoat it with the ‘Vishwaguru’ narrative…Indian lives cannot be treated as an afterthought in matters of foreign policy,” he posted on X.
Congress MP Manish Tewari termed the incident “unfortunate”, while senior Congress leader Pawan Khera said external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s response to the attack was a “mild way of rebuking somebody who’s killed your own people.”
“Why was Jaishankar so apologetic? We have lost lives. We should have demanded an apology, but look at the international humiliation,” Khera told news agency ANI.
On Saturday, Jaishankar said he had spoken to US secretary of state Marco Rubio and conveyed India’s strong protest to the US Navy attacks in the Gulf that resulted in the deaths of three Indian mariners.
In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar said, “Spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this evening. I reiterated India’s strong protest at the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners. Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified.”
Meanwhile, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) on Friday summoned US Charge d’Affaires Jason Meeks and formally registered a strong protest over the continuing attacks on commercial vessels near the coast of Oman.
With inputs from agencies
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