Hours after Trump announced that India and Pakistan will ceasefire after US intervention, Congress used the statement and India’s subsequent admission as ammunition to attack the government.

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Congress leaders didn’t waste any time invoking Indira Gandhi, who won the 1971 war against Pakistan, leading to the division of the country and the formation of Bangladesh.

In a pointed criticism, citing former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s defiance of US pressure during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared a letter written by her to then US President Richard Nixon on December 12, 1971. “Four days later, Pakistan surrendered,” Ramesh noted in a post on the social media platform X, arguing that India, under Indira, did not accept neutral mediation unlike now. “There was no neutral site then, which has now been agreed to,” he added.

“In view of the unprecedented announcements from Washington D.C., there is now a need, more than ever before, for the PM to chair an all-party meeting and take political parties into confidence,” Ramesh further added.

He also asked the government to hold a special session of Parliament to discuss the events of the past 18 days — from the brutal Pahalgam terror attack to the evolving Indo-Pak situation.

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Echoing similar sentiments, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate wrote, “Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s historic letter to President Nixon in 1971 — shortly after, Pakistan surrendered. That was courage. That was conviction. That was true commitment to India.”

Meanwhile, Pawan Khera also shared on X a series of photographs of Indira Gandhi with armed forces personnel at various points in time and remarked, “India misses Indira.”