"This is not statesmanship it is surrender": Manickam Tagore questions PM Modi's silence following Trump's claims

New Delhi [India], August 27 (ANI): After US President Donald Trump again claimed that he played a direct role in preventing a potential nuclear clash between India and Pakistan, Congress MP Manickam Tagore questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling it a "surrender" and demanded a clarification from him.
In a social media post on X, Tagore stated that India deserves a Prime Minister who can speak for the nation with "courage," not one who "cowers in silence" whenever questioned.
"Donald Trump has said it again. And yet--silence from PM Modi. When the Leader of Opposition asked in Parliament for just one word of clarification, Modi chose to stay mute. Modi, who speaks at length on anything and everything, falls completely silent when it comes to Trump's repeated claims. Why this fear? Why this silence? If Trump is wrong, say it. If he is right, explain it. But Modi hides in silence, while India's credibility suffers. This is not statesmanship it is surrender. India deserves a Prime Minister who can speak for the nation with courage, not one who cowers in silence whenever questioned," Tagore posted on X.

Donald Trump has said it again.
And yet—silence 🤫 from PM Modi.

When the Leader of Opposition asked in Parliament for just one word of clarification, Modi chose to stay mute.

Modi, who speaks at length on anything and everything, falls completely silent when it comes to…

— Manickam Tagore .B🇮🇳மாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) August 27, 2025

US President Donald Trump has again claimed that he played a direct role in preventing a potential nuclear clash between India and Pakistan earlier this year, saying he spoke with a "very terrific" Prime Minister Narendra Modi and warned Pakistan that continued hostilities would block trade deals.
Addressing a cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump said, "I'm talking to a very terrific man, Modi of India. I said, what's going on with you and Pakistan? Then I spoke to Pakistan about trade. I said, what's going on with you and India? This has been going on for a hell of a long time, sometimes under different names for hundreds of years."
He added, "But I said, what's going on? I said, I don't want to make a trade deal.... I said, no, no, I don't want to make a trade deal with you. You're going to have a nuclear war. You guys are going to end up in a nuclear war. And that was very important to them. I said, call me back tomorrow, but we're not going to do any deals with you, or we're going to put tariffs on you that are so high. I don't give a damn. Your head's going to spin. You're not going to end up in a war. Within about five hours, it was done. It was done. Now maybe it starts again, I don't know. I don't think so. But I'll stop it if it does. We can't let these things happen."
Trump also repeated his claim that seven fighter jets or more were shot down during the hostilities, saying, "I saw they were fighting, then I saw seven jets were shot down. I said, 'That's not good.' That's a lot of jets. You know, USD 150 million planes were shot down. A lot of them. Seven, maybe more than that. They didn't even report the real number."
The US President had earlier put the number at five and said he used trade pressure to halt the escalation.
"I have stopped all of these wars. A big one would have been India and Pakistan..." he said during a bilateral meeting with the President of the Republic of Korea on Monday (local time).
He added, "The war with India and Pakistan was the next level that was going to be a nuclear war... They already shot down 7 jets - that was raging. I said, 'You want to trade? We are not doing any trade or anything with you if you keep fighting, you've got 24 hours to settle it'. They said, 'Well, there's no more war going on.' I used that on numerous occasions. I used trade and whatever I had to use..."
Trump has referred to the India-Pakistan conflict several times before.
In July, he made a similar claim, saying India and Pakistan were close to a nuclear conflict after the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead and that he intervened at a crucial time to de-escalate. (ANI)