‘Rajiv Gandhi asked US Prez Reagan for help in negotiating with Pakistan’: BJP’s Nishikant Dubey

NEW DELHI: 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 the 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.

गांधी होना आसान नहीं
यह पत्र अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति रोनाल्ड रेगन का तत्कालीन भारतीय प्रधानमंत्री राजीव गांधी जी के द्वारा लिखे पत्र के उत्तर में है ।1972 के शिमला समझौते के तहत जब यह तय हो गया कि भारत पाकिस्तान के बीच किसी विवाद पर बातचीत केवल दोनों देशों के बीच होगी,कोई मध्यस्थ… pic.twitter.com/kJLSF75TaT

— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) May 28, 2025

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.

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.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Tuesday 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.

#WATCH | Delhi | On BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s tweet, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari says, “BJP has a habit of lying. But it seems that the External Affairs Ministry has not briefed him properly this time. They forgot to tell him not to make statements in a foreign land that may… pic.twitter.com/M8MwcDRIBT

— ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2025

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari on Wednesday hit back at BJP MP Nishikant Dubey over his remarks on former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, saying that the latter is not fit to represent the country abroad. Dubey is part of the all-party delegation led by BJP’s Baijayant Panda who reached Saudia Arabia this morning after presenting India’s stance against terrorism in Kuwait.

Pramod Tiwari demanded from the Centre to call Dubey back from the delegation visit. “The BJP has a habit of lying. But it seems that the External Affairs Ministry has not briefed him properly this time. They forgot to tell him not to make statements in a foreign land that may tarnish the country’s self-respect”, the Congress MP said.

Tiwari demanded that the BJP government immediately recall Nishikant Dubey, asserting he is “not fit to represent the country abroad.” “I request that the BJP government recall him immediately. He is not fit to represent the country abroad,” he added. (ANI)