Lucknow: Questioning the silence of Central govt over US-Israel attacks near Indian coastline, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said the developments in the Indian Ocean were deeply concerning and serious.“The recent US-Israel attacks near our borders in the Indian Ocean is serious and deeply concerning. Govt has maintained an unprecedented silence on the issue. It needs to be explained if it is a ‘studied silence’ or govt is at a loss of words resulting from some fear or compulsion,” Akhilesh said in a statement on Thursday. “This helplessness of the BJP govt needs to be explained to the people,” he said. Akhilesh’s statement comes close to the heels of US defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s statement that an American submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday. News agencies quoted Sri Lankan authorities as stating that 80 bodies were found from the frigate while 32 were rescued alive. “This is an international issue and a joint responsibility of Govt of India, ministry of foreign affair and defence ministry to make public their stance on the issue. But the silence has compelled the opposition parties to speak up. Govt should come forward and ensure the security of Indian waters, land and airspace,” Akhilesh said. He added that people were losing faith and confidence in govt. “It seems that there is no govt in the country. The BJP govt is apparently struggling to hide its failures and divert people’s attention by maintaining an ambiguous approach towards the crisis. In the next session of the parliament, the BJP will again and deliberately rake up some contentious issues in order to shift the focus of debates away from its failures,” he said. “For the country, presently, there is a ‘govt vacuum’ in place,” Akhilesh said.
