‘Paid agent of China or Pakistan’: BJP tears into Rahul Gandhi over 'surrender' remark on Operation Sindoor

He also claimed that Modi brought about the dawn of a new ”Bharat” with his coming to power in 2014.

The BJP on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of echoing anti-India sentiments after he questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of the India-Pakistan conflict and Operation Sindoor.

During a recent address at a Congress convention in Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi alleged that Modi "surrendered" after receiving a phone call from then-US President Donald Trump during the military standoff with Pakistan. His remarks triggered a sharp response from the ruling party.

Reacting to the statement, BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra accused Gandhi of insulting the Indian armed forces and undermining a successful military operation.

"The kind of language Rahul Gandhi is using, the kind of questions Rahul Gandhi is repeatedly asking, I have full suspicion that he is a paid agent of China or Pakistan," Patra said at a press conference.

He further alleged that Gandhi and his family had been "caught spying against India under the Chinese tent during the India-China logjam over Doklam."

Referring to the Congress leader’s use of the term "surrender," Patra said, "No civilised politician or a leader of the opposition would ever use a word like ‘surrender’ when it comes to talking about their own country. A politician using such a word for the ‘motherland’ cannot be a fit person in politics."

Patra reiterated that the April 21 Pahalgam terror attack was avenged through Operation Sindoor, which he said led to the destruction of nine terror launchpads and 11 air bases inside Pakistan.

"Despite this, Rahul Gandhi has used the word ‘surrender’ for Bharatvarsh and made fun of Operation Sindoor," Patra said. "India never surrenders, Bharatvarsh never surrendered to terror."

He also accused the previous UPA government of being soft on Pakistan. "Those were different times when you (Congress-led UPA government) kept playing dossier-dossier (with Pakistan)… No more dossier, only dose is given today."

Echoing similar sentiments, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also took aim at Gandhi, calling him the “leader of Pakistani propaganda.”

"Rahul Gandhi has once again understood that the meaning of LoP is the leader of Pakistani propaganda. The kind of propaganda that even Pakistan was not able to do, he is doing," Poonawalla said.

He added, "Rahul Gandhi likes things which are foreign, be it a propaganda or a leader."

Dismissing claims of foreign mediation in Operation Sindoor, Poonawalla urged Gandhi to pay attention to senior leaders within his own party.

"Rahul Gandhi, believe in what the DGMO said, what the Ministry of External Affairs said — If not them, at least believe in Shashi (Tharoor), Manish (Tewari) and Salman (Khurshid). They have said that no mediation happened, India did not call up (Pakistan), their DGMO reached out to India," he said.

He also claimed that Pakistan, which has “admitted” to being “beaten up” by India during Operation Sindoor, was now “pleading” for military restraint.

(With input from PTI)