Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday sharply criticised the BJP-led central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing them of “not defending the country’s honour” after the US Navy strikes on an oil ship in the Gulf killed three Indian seafarers.
The ship, MT Settebello, was struck on Wednesday after US forces claimed it had violated the naval blockade imposed on Iranian ports. Of the 24 Indian crew members on board, 21 were rescued, while the other three were later declared dead.
The deceased were marine engineer Patnala Suresh (44) from Visakhapatnam, Shivanand Chaurasia (38) from Surauli village in Deoria district, Uttar Pradesh, and Aditya Sharma (23) from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh. They were initially reported missing before their deaths were confirmed.
Notably, after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the killing of the three Indian seafarers, the US State Department stated in its official readout that commercial vessels must comply with instructions from American forces. It further warned that any breach of the US-imposed blockade on Iranian ports “will not be tolerated”.
Rahul Gandhi led the opposition attack on the Centre, criticising it over the US message and what he termed as the government’s “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.’”
Terming him “compromised PM”, Rahul Gandhi criticized PM Modi and accused 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.
Other Congress leader also criticised PM Modi and NDA govt
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not issuing any public statement 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 called the incident “unfortunate”.
Meanwhile senior Congress leader Pawan Khera said EAM S Jaishankar’s response to the attack was a “mild way of rebuking somebody who’s killed your own people.”
Speaking to ANI, Khera said, “Why was Jaishankar so apologetic? We have lost lives. We should have demanded an apology, but look at the international humiliation.”
Jaishankar spoke to Rubio
Jaishankar said he had a conversation with US secretary of state Marco Rubio and conveyed India’s strong protest over the US Navy attacks in the Gulf, that resulted in the deaths of three Indian seafarer.
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 lodged a strong protest over the continuous attacks on commercial ships near the coast of Oman.
