New Delhi, July 29 (Reporter) Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, today challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the House and clarify whether US President Donald Trump was lying about mediating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan durin Operation Sindoor. Participating in a debate on Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said, "If Narendra Modi even has 50 percent of the courage of Indira Gandhi, he should say that Trump is a liar and no planes fell during Operation Sindoor.” He said that Trump had claimed 29 times that he mediated the ceasefire and that Prime Minister Modi did not have the guts or courage to correct him and tell him he was lying. Gandhi said the present government lacked the political will to fight the battle and surrendered immediately after starting the war. "If the country wants to defeat Pakistan once and for all, it must give operational freedom to our defence forces, which they were not given during Operation Sindoor". Referring to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s speech in Parliament yesterday, he said it only showed that the government lacked the political will. Otherwise, he asked, why would the government of India tell the government of Pakistan within just half an hour of launching Operation Sindoor that it had not hit its military installations and did not want any escalation? This was like a meek surrender, he said. Accusing the government of India of tying the hands of the defence forces behind their backs, he asked why were the defence forces and the Indian Air Force asked not to attack Pakistan’s military infrastructure and air defense system? He said, "Our defence forces were not given any operational freedom because the government lacked the political will". The senior Congress leader claimed that despite the Pakistani state organising and orchestrating the brutal, heartless, and merciless attack, no country in the world condemned it. He said while all the countries condemned terrorism, they did not condemn Pakistan and called it a "diplomatic failure of the country". Highlighting the military integration between Pakistan and China, the former Congress president said: "India’s defence forces did not fight Pakistan alone, but the joint might of the Pakistani and Chinese armies and air forces". Gandhi claimed that the goal of Operation Sindoor was to save and protect the image of the Prime Minister, who had the blood of the Pahalgam terror victims on his hands. “It is dangerous at this time for the PM to use the forces to protect his image… it is dangerous for the country,” he said, while asserting that the defence forces should only be used in national interest. “The nation is above your image, above your politics, and above your PR,” he told the Prime Minister, urging him to show humility and dignity. “Security forces are above your politics, image, and PR,” he reiterated. Holding the External Affairs Minister responsible for the diplomatic failure of the country in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, he said not a single country condemned Pakistan, despite it being responsible for the terror attack. He said not even a single neighboring country condemned Pakistan...////...