Congress ups 'Narendra-Surender' ante, BJP says treasonous

The Congress on Wednesday intensified Rahul Gandhi's "Narendra is surrender" offensive against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering sharp reactions from BJP chief JP Nadda who accused the opposition party of treason.

"It is wrong to think that Narendra Modi is India and India is Narendra Modi," Congress media department head Pawan Khera hit back, doubling down on Rahul Gandhi's "Narendra surrendered during Operation Sindoor remarks" made in Bhopal on Tuesday.

Khera said even the "Kashmir issue could have been decided in one go because India had a decisive edge over Pakistan in Operation Sindoor and Pakistan could have fully conceded defeat much to India's advantage."

"But US President Donald Trump called up Mr Modi who meekly surrendered everything...PM has time and again surrendered national interests in situations which mandate deftness and a role of the Vishwaguru. For all these 11 years the BJP was making a film 'Muqaddar Ka Sikandar' for their hero but on release it turned out to be 'Narender Ka Surrender'," said Khera after Gandhi again posted on X: "Narendra Modi Is actually Surender Modi."

The BJP's response was led by BJP president JP Nadda who said Rahul's remarks amounted to treason.

"Rahul Gandhi terming the unmatched valour of the Indian Army a 'surrender' is not only unfortunate but a grave insult to the Army, the nation and 140 crore Indians. Had any Pakistani said this, we would have laughed it off, but after Operation Sindoor wreaked havoc in Pakistan, no one even in Pakistan, not its army, not its PM, could say such a thing. But Rahul Gandhi is saying this! This is nothing less than treason," Nadda said.

The BJP chief accused the Congress of surrender. "Surrender is in the dictionary of Congress, it is in your DNA.

Your party's governments 'surrendered' throughout history. You surrendered to terrorism, surrendered in Sharm-el-Sheikh, surrendered at the table in Shimla after winning the 1971 war, surrendered in the Indus Water Treaty, surrendered Haji Pir Pass, surrendered 160 km area of Chamb sector, surrendered in the 1962 war, surrendered in 1948 and even surrendered to the Muslim League at the time of independence of the country," said Nadda.

The Congress, however, asked why PM Modi does not set the record straight when Donald Trump continues to claim he mediated and even offered trade deals to help India and Pakistan reach a ceasefire. India has said the cessation of hostilities with Pakistan were reached bilaterally and trade was never on the table.

Earlier today, BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi accused Rahul Gandhi of harbouring a "deeply distorted mindset."

"Rahul Gandhi’s remarks go beyond anything even Pakistan’s military chiefs or terror groups like Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed have said. If Rahul Gandhi speaks of surrender, one must wonder, is he trying to outdo India’s enemies in undermining the nation?" said Trivedi.