Kharge terms conflict with Pakistan a "small war", says government has "not provided clarity" on Trump's remarks

Vijayanagara (Karnataka) [India], May 20 : Terming India's firm response to Pakistani aggression following Operation Sindoor a "small war", Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday attacked the government over its response to the US claims about mediation between India and Pakistan and said "it has not providing clarity to the people of the country regarding US President Trump's statements."
Speaking at the Samarpana Sankalpa Samavesh rally in Karnataka's Vijayanagara, Kharge alleged that intelligence agencies had prior information about a possible attack in the region and questioned why tourists were not informed.
"26 people were killed in Kashmir because the Modi government didn't provide security to tourists. Modi did not go to Kashmir because the intelligence agencies asked him not to. Why didn't you (central government) inform the tourists not to go there (Pahalgam)? If they had, 26 lives could have been saved, and this small war (Operation Sindoor) would not have happened," he said.
He also hit out at the Centre for targeting the Congress party using central agencies. "Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi gave their lives for the country. You thought we should give ED and CBI notices to such a party and cause trouble and weaken it. That will never happen," he said.
In a post on X later, Kharge alleged that the government had not responded to the US President Donald Trump's claims on mediation.
"PM Modi has been making frequent foreign trips for the last 11 years, but when India needed international support to expose Pakistan, no other country came forward to support us. In the last 11 years, Prime Minister Modi has made 151 foreign trips and visited 72 countries. Out of these, he has visited the US 10 times. Yet, our country stands alone under the Modi government's foreign policy. Is it the Prime Minister's job to visit foreign countries and only pose for photos? The IMF has provided a bailout loan of $1.4 billion to Pakistan. But nobody supported India's stance," he said.
"A ceasefire was suddenly declared while our brave Armed Forces were conducting operations against terrorists. The US President has insulted our country by saying, "I brokered" the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and repeated this, not less than 7 times. The entire country was united in the tough action against terrorists, but Modi ji is trying to cover up the issue by not providing clarity to the people of the country regarding US President Trump's statements, so far," he added.
Trump said recently that he "used trade" to broker a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan.
"Just days ago, my administration brokered a historic ceasefire to stop the escalating violence between India and Pakistan, and I used trade to a large extent. I said, 'Let us make a deal. ' Let us not trade nuclear missiles. Let us trade the things you make so beautifully. They both have powerful, smart leaders. It all stopped. I hope it remains that way," Trump said while addressing the gathering at the Saudi-US Investment Forum 2025.
In response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, including a Nepali national, were killed, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, in which precision strikes destroyed terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoK) and eliminated nearly 100 terror operatives at key bases in Pakistan. India responded effectively to subsequent Pakistani aggression and pounded its airbases.
On May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced. India has said that the agreement on stopping military action was done bilaterally and Pakistan DGMO had reached out to his Indian counterpart.
Reacting to Kharge's remarks, BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal accused the Congress president of politicising a sensitive national security issue.
"It is clear that Mallikarjun Kharge wants to do politics on this. Our DGMO has talked about what happened there in two press conferences. Kharge did not tell that the Indian forces destroyed the enemy country's air defence system in 23 minutes. Somehow, I smell politics in this. Such irresponsible statements cannot be expected from a senior leader," he said.
BJP MP Sambit Patra also criticised Kharge, saying, "You do the work of giving oxygen to Pakistan...Today, we all know why Hafiz likes Rahul (Gandhi). Congress party, Kharge ji are saying that Operation Sindoor is a small war -- are Rahul Gandhi and Kharge ji not able to understand that our armed forces entered Pakistan and struck nine terror sites there, and more than 100 terrorists were killed? After retaliation by Pakistan, their 11 airbases were destroyed. Today, Pakistan is in pain, and you're saying that Operation Sindoor was a small war? This is cheating the country and the bravery of the Armed Forces."