"Your Chest Shrinks to 36 Inches When You Face Trump": Trinamool MP Takes Dig at PM Modi

During a heated debate in the Lok Sabha on Monday over Operation Sindoor, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee took a sharp swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of staying silent in the face of former US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

Referring to the May 10 ceasefire that followed India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Banerjee said, “Why hasn’t the Prime Minister ever posted even once on his 'X' account denying Trump’s claims? The moment he stands in front of the American President, his height shrinks to 5 feet and his 56-inch chest becomes 36 inches. Why is he so afraid of him?”

Trump has on multiple occasions claimed credit for de-escalating the India-Pakistan conflict, saying his intervention — including the use of trade leverage — led to the ceasefire. Just last week, the White House praised Trump’s foreign policy as “aggressive, results-driven, and underappreciated,” citing the May ceasefire as an example.

Trump also claimed that four to five fighter jets were shot down during the hostilities and once again insisted that he played a key role in resolving the standoff.

Operation Sindoor was launched by India on May 7 in response to the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where 26 civilians were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists. The cross-border strikes led to a tense military faceoff, which was eventually halted on May 10.

When the Lok Sabha reconvened at 2 PM following several disruptions, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh opened the debate and laid out a detailed timeline of the events, from the Pahalgam attack to the execution of Operation Sindoor and the eventual ceasefire. He reiterated that the decision to pause military action came after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) reached out to the Indian side requesting a ceasefire.

Rajnath Singh made it clear that India agreed to the ceasefire on its own terms — with a stern warning to Pakistan that any future provocation would invite an even stronger response.

Despite the government's stance, the Opposition continued to push for clarity on Trump’s claims and demanded that Prime Minister Modi address the issue directly in Parliament.

Reacting to Kalyan Banerjee’s remarks, BJP MP Biplab Deb defended the government and dismissed Trump's comments as irrelevant. “Trump is the President of the United States. What he says shouldn’t matter to us. I don’t understand why Banerjee believes every word he says,” Deb said. “Our priority is the nation’s security. After Operation Sindoor, Pakistan was forced to back down. Every MP should stand with the country.”

Interestingly, Trump was the first to publicly announce the ceasefire between India and Pakistan on May 10. Hours later, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed the development but clarified that it came through direct military communication between the two nations — not through any foreign mediation.

Since then, Trump has continued to claim credit for the ceasefire, while the Indian government has firmly maintained that the decision was mutual and had no external influence. The Opposition, however, remains unconvinced and has been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Modi addressing Trump’s claims directly.