US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate on the ‘Kashmir issue’ is in the same category as taking over Greenland, making Canada the fifty-first state, turning Gaza into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’, etc. These are the ramblings of a person who does not recognise any boundaries of logic or morality. This flows from his success in surviving numerous convictions and obtaining votes on a populist platform that has surpassed any in the past. It follows the pattern of exaggerated claims that Trump makes unconcerned with their veracity – the truth for him exists only on his ‘Truth Social’. It does not matter if something is true, it is what people can be made to believe.
There are the usual Modi detractors in the Indian opposition who have latched on to Trump’s statement and are demanding to know why PM Modi has involved a third party in the Kashmir issue, against the spirit of the ‘Shimla Agreement’. (They ignore the fact that the Agreement, in essence, gave away on the negotiating table what had been won on the battlefield, very probably due to third party pressure.) In his address to the nation on Monday, PM Modi reiterated that discussions between India and Pakistan will only be held on the issue of POK and sponsoring of terrorism.
As in earlier situations, there is the likelihood though that Pakistan may have sought US help in bringing a halt to the conflict. PM Modi, in this regard, has also made clear that Operation Sindoor has only been suspended, not ended. This leaves the door open to further cross-border action should Pakistan continue with its support to terrorism.
The concerns of the opposition regarding the political advantage that may accrue to PM Modi and the BJP following Operation Sindoor is indicative of a return to ‘normalcy’. As such, it has become necessary for it to find fault with the government’s handling of the crisis. Doing so without undermining the national cause is going to be naturally difficult under the present circumstances. Holding a special session of Parliament could provide an opportunity to deflate somewhat the Prime Minister’s increased aura. The opposition politicians will have to be careful, however, as even during the conflict they provided Pakistan with considerable propaganda material for its anti-India campaign on social media. Come election time in Bihar, that will be brought before the public by the BJP with full force. Trump will not be much of a reliable ally on that front for those opposing Modi!
