‘Signed under strain’: BJP MP cites declassified letter to Rajiv Gandhi from former US President Ronald Reagan questioning nuclear pact | India News

NEW DELHI: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Wednesday claimed that the 1988 nuclear settlement between India and Pakistan was signed under strain from the United States, through the tenure of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Sharing what he described as a declassified letter on X, Dubey alleged that then US President Ronald Reagan had dictated the agenda of talks between New Delhi and Islamabad.“Under American pressure, we spoke to Pakistani President General Zia. The agenda for the talks was set by the US President,” Dubey posted on X.“What we understood after this letter was that Pakistan and we did the nuclear deal in 1988 under American pressure.”The BJP chief additional questioned Congress’s silence on the problem. “Why is Congress angry? When I saw this paper, I felt ashamed,” he added, attaching a replica of the letter that he mentioned was addressed by Reagan to Rajiv Gandhi.Dubey additionally accused the Congress-led authorities of aligning with US pursuits in its overseas coverage choices. “Whatever we talked to our friend Soviet Russia about on the Afghanistan problem was an American agenda. Is this the Shimla Agreement? Is the Iron Lady the mentality of slavery? Were we a sovereign nation at that time? Is Congress abusing Modi Ji to make India stronger?” he wrote.The 1988 settlement between India and Pakistan, formally referred to as the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack in opposition to Nuclear Installations and Facilities, was signed on 31 December 1988 and got here into pressure on 27 January 1991. It obligates each nations to yearly share lists of nuclear services and chorus from attacking one another’s nuclear infrastructure.Dubey’s remarks come amid renewed home debate over overseas involvement in India-Pakistan diplomacy, notably following the Pahalgam terror assault and India’s subsequent Operation Sindoor. He additionally referred to a letter reportedly written by Rajiv Gandhi to Reagan looking for mediation with Pakistan, a transfer he mentioned violated the 1972 Shimla Agreement which barred third-party mediation.“It is not easy to be Gandhi,” Dubey mentioned, asserting that Rajiv Gandhi’s request for American intervention was opposite to India’s said diplomatic coverage.Earlier, the BJP MP had posted a declassified 1971 US intelligence cable suggesting that Indira Gandhi had agreed to a UN ceasefire through the Bangladesh Liberation War due to worldwide strain. The submit was aimed toward countering opposition criticism of the federal government’s present diplomatic method.Meanwhile, Congress chief Jairam Ramesh criticised External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for remaining silent on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s alleged remarks about potential American mediation in India-Pakistan talks. India has since reaffirmed its longstanding stance that each one points with Pakistan, together with these regarding Jammu and Kashmir, should be addressed bilaterally with out overseas mediation.