Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of remaining silent over the deaths of three Indian nationals in recent US strikes on commercial vessels in international waters, alleging that the government had failed to stand up for Indian citizens killed abroad.
In a strongly worded post on social media platform X, Gandhi claimed that three Indians had lost their lives in three separate American attacks on ships over the past three days and questioned why the Prime Minister had not publicly reacted to the incidents.
“Three Indians have died in three American attacks on ships in international waters in three days. And our compromised PM? Not a single word,” Gandhi wrote.
The Congress leader said it was the responsibility of the Prime Minister to speak out whenever an Indian citizen was killed by a foreign power, accusing Modi of failing to do so in the present case.
“When a foreign power kills an Indian, the Prime Minister must speak. But he does not have the courage to utter even a single word,” Gandhi said.
Targeting Modi ahead of his scheduled participation in the upcoming G7 Summit, Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister would continue engaging with world leaders while ignoring the concerns arising from the deaths of Indian seafarers.
“Next week at the G7, just days after our sailors were killed, Modi ji will smile, embrace leaders and make deals. But he will not have a single word for those three Indians,” he said.
Stepping up his criticism, Gandhi claimed that the Prime Minister’s silence reflected an unwillingness to confront those responsible for the deaths and accused him of failing to protect Indian citizens.
“The Compromised PM cannot protect the sons of Bharat Mata because he neither has the courage nor the strength to upset those who took their lives,” Gandhi said.
The remarks come amid a growing political debate over the deaths of Indian seafarers aboard commercial vessels operating in international waters, with the Congress questioning the government’s response and seeking accountability over the handling of the issue.