In a scathing attack on the Modi government, former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha on Wednesday accused the Prime Minister of isolating India on the global stage, citing the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting as a prime example.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Sinha criticised the government’s failure to ensure India’s concerns on terrorism were reflected in the SCO communique. “India stands completely isolated at the global stage. The SCO communique is the latest example where the terror attack at Pahalgam has been ignored and Baluchistan has been mentioned. The prime minister has failed completely and must resign,” he wrote.
His comments come after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who represented India at the SCO meeting, withheld support for the final communique due to the omission of references to terrorism, particularly the recent Pahalgam terror attack in which several Indian soldiers were killed. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) later confirmed that India’s insistence on including these references was blocked by “one particular country,” believed to be Pakistan or its close ally.
Sinha’s post has sparked a wave of political reactions. Critics of the government echoed his concerns, stating that India’s global diplomatic influence is weakening. However, supporters of the ruling party defended the move, arguing that India took a principled stand by not endorsing a statement that failed to condemn terrorism.
The inclusion of Balochistan in the SCO document, without any mention of terror attacks against India, has further heightened tensions. Observers believe this may indicate growing pressure within multilateral groupings where India’s voice is being challenged more frequently.