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Informist, Friday, Jun. 12, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Friday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the deaths of three Indian sailors in the Gulf of Oman. The sailors were killed in a US attack on an oil tanker near Oman Wednesday.

 

"Three Indians died in US attacks on three ships in international waters in three days. And our compromised PM? Not even a word," Gandhi lashed out on social media. "When a foreign power kills an Indian, the prime minister has to speak. But he dare not speak a word!"

 

The Indian National Congress leader said that at the summit of the Group of Seven next week, Modi will "smile, hug and sign pacts" but "won't have a word" for the three Indian sailors killed just days before. "A compromised PM cannot protect the sons of Mother India, because he has neither the courage nor the strength to displease those who took the lives of those sons," he said.

 

Other opposition leaders, too, have questioned Modi's silence on the issue even as the prime minister thanked US President Donald Trump Thursday for the good wishes on completion of 12 years in office. "PM Modi is saying 'thank you' to Trump. Thank you for exactly what? For attacking ships with Indians on board and killing Indian nationals? Modi ji has completely surrendered India's sovereignty, pride and the lives of its citizens to Trump," Aam Aadmi Party convener and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said Thursday.

 

Meanwhile, the external affairs ministry Friday summoned US Charge d'Affaires Jason Meeks for the second time to lodge a protest against repeated attacks on commercial ships with Indian crew on board off the coast of Oman, according to media reports quoting sources.

 

Three ships with Indian sailors have been hit by US forces near the Strait of Hormuz within four days. An Indian oil tanker identified as MT Jalveer came under attack Thursday, only a day after the attack on MT Settebello off the Oman coast, in which the three Indian sailors died while 21 others were rescued by the Oman Navy. Monday, oil tanker Marivex was hit by a precision munition, causing a fire on the vessel. All 24 Indian crew members were safely rescued by the Oman Navy in this case.

 

Modi has neither publicly condemned the attacks by the US forces on unarmed commercial vessels nor condoled the deaths of the Indian sailors so far.  End

 

Reported by Asim Khan

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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