Agencies

New Delhi: Reacting over Donald Trump’s recent ‘Kashmir mediation’ claim, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that PM Modi has betrayed the nation’s interests and 1972 Shimla Agreement, if the US President’s remarks come true.

“President Trump says PM Modi asked him to mediate between India and Pakistan on Kashmir! If true, PM Modi has betrayed India’s interests and 1972 Shimla Agreement. A weak Foreign Ministry denial won’t do. PM must tell the nation what transpired in the meeting between him,” Gandhi tweeted.

If true, PM Modi has betrayed India’s interests & 1972 Shimla Agreement.

A weak Foreign Ministry denial won’t do. PM must tell the nation what transpired in the meeting between him & @POTUS

Notably, Gandhi’s statement comes soon after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar ‘categorically assured’ the Rajya Sabha that no such request was made by PM Modi.

“It has been India’s consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally. Any engagement with Pakistan would require an end to cross-border terrorism. I would like to categorically assure the House that no such request has been made by PM Modi,” S Jaishankar told the Upper House, earlier in the day.

Earlier on Monday, President Trump, before his meeting with visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in the White House, had said: “I was with Prime Minister Modi two weeks ago, and we talked about the subject. And he actually said, ‘would you like to be a mediator, or arbitrator’, and I said ‘where?’, and he said ‘Kashmir’, because this has been going on for many, many years. I was surprised for how long it has been going on,” to which Imran Khan interjected to say, ’70 years’.