‘Rajiv Gandhi sought US interference, asked Ronald Reagan to help in talks with Pakistan’: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey reveals 1987 letter
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Wednesday claimed that Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had written a letter to then United States (US) President Ronald Reagan to help in negotiating with Pakistan.
Sharing a purported letter written by a US president to the Indian Prime Minister on X, Dubey stated that 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.
“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. 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 on X.
This revelation adds a new layer to the ongoing political debate over third-party involvement in India-Pakistan relations, especially in the wake of recent escalations triggered by the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s retaliatory Operation Sindoor.
The letter, delivered to Rajiv Gandhi on March 25, 1987 by the US Ambassador to India, states that Gandhi sought US experts to be present in a bilateral discussion between India and Pakistan pertaining to cross border narcotics smuggling. Reagan had expressed that he would be glad to provide any support sought by the governments of India and Pakistan.
On Tuesday, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey shared a purportedly declassified 1971 US intelligence cable regarding former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s decision to accept a UN 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 interrogated whether India prioritised the creation of Bangladesh over reclaiming Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and securing assets like the Kartarpur Gurdwara.
“Indira Gandhi, the Iron Lady. Under American pressure, India itself stopped the 1971 war despite opposition from the then Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram and Army Chief Sam Manekshaw. Babu Jagjivan Ram wanted that the war should be stopped only after our part of Kashmir, which Pakistan forcefully occupies, is back, but the fear of the Iron Lady and the terror of China could not do this. Was the priority for India to take back its land and the Kartarpur Gurdwara, or to create Bangladesh?” Dubey stated on X.
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.
(With inputs from ANI)
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