'Rajiv Gandhi Sought US Mediation': Nishikant Dubey Slams Congress Amid India-Pakistan Tensions

Last Updated:May 28, 2025, 13:34 IST

BJP's Nishikant Dubey claimed former PM Rajiv Gandhi sought mediation from then US President Ronald Reagan on India–Pakistan disputes, triggering a response from the Congress.

File photos of BJP's Nishikant Dubey and Congress's Udit Raj (PTI)

A war of words erupted between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress on Wednesday after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey claimed that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had requested the then United States President Ronald Reagan for mediating between India and Pakistan.

In an X post, the BJP MP shared a response by Reagan to Rajiv Gandhi, and questioned the party on why such request was made by Gandhi when under the 1972 Shimla Agreement, it was decided that any dispute between India and Pakistan would be negotiated only between the two countries and there would be no mediator.

“It is not easy to be Gandhi. This letter is in reply to a letter written by US President Ronald Reagan to the then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi," Dubey wrote on X.

“When it was decided under the 1972 Shimla Agreement that any dispute between India and Pakistan would be negotiated only between the two countries and there would be no mediator, why did the then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi ask for US President Reagan’s help in negotiating with Pakistan?" he questioned.

Countering Dubey’s claims, Congress leader Udit Raj, in an X post, called Nishikant Dubey ‘fake Kant Dubey’ and asserted that Reagan’s response to Rajiv Gandhi nowhere mentions that the Indian Prime Minister had requested the United States for mediation between India and Pakistan.

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“Not only the degree of fake Kant Dubey, but everything about him is fake. The US President Reagan read the letter written to Shri Rajiv Gandhi but it is not mentioned anywhere that India has asked for support for mediation," Udit Raj responded.

“Fake Kant Dubey does not know how to read English, so how can we help him? Modi ji should be called back from the delegation immediately because he has gone to expose Pakistan and the opposite is happening," he added, quoting Dubey’s X post.

The war of words between the two parties comes amid the ongoing political debates over third-party involvement in India-Pakistan relations, especially in the wake of recent escalations triggered following the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s retaliatory ‘Operation Sindoor’.

On Tuesday, Nishikant Dubey shared a purportedly declassified 1971 US intelligence cable regarding former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s decision to accept a United Nations’ ceasefire proposal during the Bangladesh Liberation War, in response to the Opposition’s demand for clarification from the Union Government on the US’s involvement in the recent understanding on the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan.

He further asked whether India prioritised the creation of Bangladesh over reclaiming Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) and securing assets like the Kartarpur Gurdwara.

Earlier, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a dig at External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, saying that he had been “silent" on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks about “US mediation" and “neutral site" for India-Pakistan talks.

However, India refuted the claims made by the US President, reiterating its policy that India and Pakistan bilaterally address any matter related to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

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