New Delhi | The Congress on Wednesday alleged that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave a "shameful clean chit" to Pakistan while speaking at an SCO meeting in Bishkek, and claimed that his shocking statements were "anti-national".

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also alleged that this "new stance" in relation to Pakistan is all part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policy of "appeasement" of the US and "calibrated capitulation" to China.

Ramesh shared a video clip of Singh speaking in Bishkek in which he said, "We must not forget that terrorism has no nationality and no theology. No grievance, real or supposed, can become an excuse for terrorism and humanitarian loss." In his post on X attacking Singh, Ramesh said, "Yesterday, the Defence Minister, obviously with the approval of and at the instance of the Prime Minister, gave a shameful clean chit to Pakistan while speaking in Bishkek." Is Pakistan not the epicentre of terrorism, Ramesh asked.

"Are there no terrorist camps in Pakistan with India as their target? Is there no ideological anti-India indoctrination in Pakistan? Were not the Mumbai and Pahalgam terror attacks masterminded and executed by terrorists from Pakistan?" the Congress leader said.

"Clearly this new stance in relation to Pakistan is all part of the PM's policy of appeasement of the US and calibrated capitulation to China," Ramesh said.

"The Defence Minister's shocking statements are as anti-national as the PM's bizarre clean chit to China on June 19, 2020," he alleged.

Singh, in an address at a conclave of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Bishkek, had also said Operation Sindoor demonstrated India's firm resolve that "terror epicentres" are no longer immune to "justifiable punishment".

Singh had also called on the influential grouping to not lose sight of "state-sponsored" cross-border terrorism and that there should not be any place for any "double standards" in combating the menace.