How many times has Donald Trump claimed to have mediated India-Pakistan ceasefire in Operation Sindoor? Mallikarjun Kharge says...

As the Monsoon Session of Parliament kicked off Monday amid uproar, the old question resurfaced: Did US President Donald Trump mediate between India and Pakistan to bring the clashes to an end in May? Despite India's categorical denial, Trump hasrepeatedly made the claims. How many times has he said so? Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress MP, Mallikarjun Kharge, served a notice to the government as soon as the business begins in the upper house. 

Mallikarjun Kharge's notice

Taking to X, Kharge said, "I have given notice under Rule 267 on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. Till today, the terrorists have not been caught or neutralised. All parties extended unconditional support to the government. The government should inform us about what has happened." 

Taking it one step closer to the government, he wrote in another post on the social media platform, "Apart from this, the government should also clarify its stand on the statement of US President Donald Trump, because he has claimed not once but 24 times that he got the ceasefire done. This is humiliating for the country."

What happened?

Following the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 unarmed civilians were gunned down in Jammu and Kashmir in April, India targeted terrorists' hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in May. Taking to social media platform Truth Social, Donald Trump wrote on May 12 that after four days of cross-border clashes, India and Pakistan had agreed to a "full and immediate ceasefire", brokered by the US. In another post, he wrote, "I will work with you both to see if, after a thousand years, a solution can be arrived at, concerning Kashmir."

This is a sensitive issue because New Delhi has consistently maintained that Jammu and Kashmir is a bilateral matter and that the two countries will resolve it amicably without any interference from a third party. Contrary to this, Pakistan has said many times that the issue should be resolved by a UN resolution and a referendum should be held. 

Why is India upset?

India immediately rejected the claim of the US president and said that he did not play any role whatsoever and the ceasefire was discussed between the DGMOs of the two countries. However, Trump kept on repeating his claims on many occasions on different platforms. 

The issue took an interesting twist when the main opposition Congress party demanded an explanation from the government and an all-party meeting on the "ceasefire announcements made from Washington, DC first". Congress party spokesman Jairam Ramesh said, "Have we opened the doors to third-party mediation? The Indian National Congress would like to ask if diplomatic channels between India and Pakistan are being reopened."

The contentious issue came to the forefront once again after Mallikarjun Kharge issued a notice to the Rajya Sabha Chairman, demanding that the government reply. He said that Donald Trump has talked about the mediation 24 times. The Narendra Modi government has not yet replied to this question.