‘Shameful Clean Chit’: Cong Attacks Rajnath Singh Over Pakistan Remarks In Bishkek

New Delhi: Congress on Wednesday charged Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with offering a “shameful clean chit” to Pakistan in his speech at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) gathering in Bishkek, branding the remarks “anti-national.”

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh claimed this “new stance” towards Pakistan reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approach of “appeasement” of the US and “calibrated capitulation” to China, PTI reported.

Ramesh posted a video excerpt of Singh’s Bishkek address on X, where the minister said: “We must not forget that terrorism has no nationality and no theology. No grievance, real or supposed, can become an excuse for terrorism and humanitarian loss.”

In his X post targeting Singh, Ramesh wrote, â

€œYesterday, the Defence Minister, obviously with the approval of and at the instance of the Prime Minister, gave a shameful clean chit to Pakistan while speaking in Bishkek.” He asked: “Is Pakistan not the epicentre of terrorism?”

“Are there no terrorist camps in Pakistan with India as their target? Is there no ideological anti-India indoctrination in Pakistan? Were not the Mumbai and Pahalgam terror attacks masterminded and executed by terrorists from Pakistan?” the Congress leader added.

“Clearly this new stance in relation to Pakistan is all part of the PM’s policy of appeasement of the US and calibrated capitulation to China,” Ramesh said.

“The Defence Minister’s shocking statements are as anti-national as the PM’s bizarre clean chit to China on June 19, 2020,” he alleged.

Singh, addressing the SCO conclave in Bishkek, also noted that Operation Sindoor exemplified India’s firm resolve that “terror epicentres” are no longer immune to “justifiable punishment.”

He further pressed the grouping to confront “state-sponsored” cross-border terrorism, insisting there should be no room for “double standards” in fighting the threat.