New Delhi [India], May 23: Congress leader Supriya Shrinate fired back at BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Friday over his attempt to link Rahul Gandhi‘s criticism of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to a 1991 Indo-Pak military transparency pact, accusing Dubey of “repeatedly displaying his stupidity.”
Shrinate clarified that the Congress had withdrawn support from the Chandrashekhar government in March 1991, while the agreement in question was signed in April 1991. She further emphasized that the pact was meant for peacetime military coordination, not active conflict scenarios like the recent Operation Sindoor.
“When we have taken action now, it was in response to a terrorist attack. This was not peacetime. So the agreement Dubey refers to doesn’t apply here,” Shrinate stated. She also accused the BJP of unintentionally confirming Rahul Gandhi’s statements, claiming that even the ruling party now admits Jaishankar had informed Pakistan.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera also weighed in, reiterating that the Congress had already withdrawn its support from the Chandrashekhar government by late February 1991, ahead of the signing of the pact and before the 10th Lok Sabha elections were announced.
The exchange comes after Nishikant Dubey posted on X (formerly Twitter), alleging that a Congress-supported government in 1991 had signed an agreement requiring India and Pakistan to exchange military information. He questioned, “Is this agreement treason?” and accused Congress of being “hand in glove with the Pakistani vote bank.”
This back-and-forth followed Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of EAM S Jaishankar, particularly over the lack of clarity on the number of Indian Air Force losses during Operation Sindoor, launched in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), reportedly resulting in the deaths of over 100 terrorists. Pakistan retaliated with drone and artillery attacks, to which India responded with airstrikes on 11 Pakistani airbases. The hostilities were called off after a mutual ceasefire agreement on May 10.