Rahul Gandhi: Conflict Reaches India’s Backyard, PM Silent
The vessel was returning after participating in the International Fleet Review 2026 and MILAN 2026 Naval Exercise in Visakhapatnam
New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi on Thursday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remaining “silent” after a US submarine sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka.
The vessel was returning after participating in the International Fleet Review 2026 and MILAN 2026 Naval Exercise in Visakhapatnam.
In a post on X, Gandhi said the West Asia conflict had reached India’s backyard and accused the Prime Minister of “surrendering India’s strategic autonomy” at a time when the country needed decisive leadership.
“The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing. At a moment like this, we need a steady hand at the wheel. Instead, India has a compromised PM who has surrendered our strategic autonomy,” he wrote.
Gandhi also expressed concern about India’s energy security, warning that tensions in the Gulf could disrupt oil supplies. He noted that more than 40 per cent of India’s oil imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the situation is even more critical for LPG and LNG supplies.
Meanwhile, former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal said the Iranian vessel had attended the naval exercises in India at New Delhi’s invitation and argued that the US strike ignored India’s sensitivities.
Sibal said the ship would not have been in the region had it not been invited to participate in the exercise, adding that ships taking part in such drills generally do not carry ammunition and were therefore defenceless.
He also noted that Iranian naval personnel had participated in ceremonial events during the exercise and said a message of condolence from the Indian Navy for the loss of lives would be appropriate.
Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi condemned the strike and warned that the United States would regret sinking the warship with a torpedo in international waters.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed on Wednesday that an American submarine had destroyed the vessel.
According to reports cited by Euronews, around 180 people were onboard the ship. The Sri Lanka Navy said it had recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 survivors, who were taken to a hospital in Galle in southern Sri Lanka.