'FIR should be against Congress': After Rahul Gandhi's remark on Jaishankar, Nishikant Dubey slams LoP over 1991 pact with Pakistan

Days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi courted controversy with his remarks against External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey recently made a huge claim against the grand old Congress party. Gandhi had accused Jaishankar of being silent on the number of aircraft that India "lost" in Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. 

Previously, the Gandhi scion accused the Union Minister of informing Pakistan at the start of Operation Sindoor, calling it a "crime". In a recent social media post, Dubey said that the Congress-supported government in 1991 signed a pact with Pakistan to exchange information regarding any attack or army movement with each other. 

"Rahul Gandhi ji, this is an agreement made during the time of your government. In 1991, your party-supported government made an agreement that India and Pakistan will exchange information about any attack or army movement. Is this agreement treason? Congress is hand in glove with Pakistani vote bank, does it suit you to make objectionable comments on Foreign Minister @DrSJaishankar ji?" a rough translation of Dubey's post read. 

Doubling down on his attack on the Congress, Dubey said that an FIR should be registered against the party and those who made this agreement. "Congress cheated the nation just for the sake of vote bank politics...India should start a case of Treason, and an FIR should be registered against those who made this agreement and the Congress party."

But why is this agreement signed under Narasimha Rao's Prime Ministership so problematic?

The agreement, as shared by Dubey, mandated information sharing on the following realms of military operations: (a) types and levels of military exercise; (b) the general area of the exercise on land, air, and sea (information about area covered in sea and air exercises had to be defined in latitude and longitude); (c) the planned duration of the activity; (d) number and type of formations participating; (e) any shifting of forces from other Commands/Corps/strategic formations envisaged; and (f) the move of strategic formations, particularly armoured divisions, mechanised divisions, air assault divisions/reserve infantry formations and artillery divisions/air defence artillery divisions. 

It further stated: "The Naval ships and submarines belonging to the other country are not to close less than three Nautical Miles (NMs) from each other so as to avoid any accident while operating in international waters."

Commenting on Dubey's allegations, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said that the agreement he referred to was meant for peacetime. She added that the purpose behind having such an agreement between India and Pakistan was to "avoid any misunderstandings regarding the movements of the Army, Navy and Air Force between the two countries".