New Delhi [India], March 6 (ANI): AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's silence on the US' recent attack on the Iranian warship 'IRIS Dena' in the Indian Ocean is 'dereliction' of their constitutional responsibility.

Owaisi posed several questions on the nature of the attack, asking whether India was informed about the US attack.

'There are too many unanswered questions about the US Navy sinking the Iranian ship so close to Indian waters. The answers have to come from the government, but the PM and the EAM have been silent. This is a dereliction of their constitutional responsibility towards the people of our country,' Owaisi said in a post on X.

'Was the Indian government informed by the Trump administration before it decided to use a nuclear submarine so close to Indian waters and expand the war zone? After all, we are also a member of Quad and the strategic partner of the US,' he added.

He expressed concern that such incidents can become a precedent for the Chinese Navy as well, questioning whether the PM Modi government will remain silent.

'If this becomes a precedent for the Chinese navy to operate in these waters, will the Modi government still remain silent? Is no one counting the cost of this timidity on display?' he said.

Owaisi further questioned whether India will remain silent if the US targets other Iranian ships in the Indian Ocean.

'If the US were to repeat these against the two Iranian ships around, would the Modi govt still act like ostriches with their heads in the sand? It destroys India's longstanding reputation of being a strategically sovereign country, and will make us irrelevant in global forums,' he said.

Owaisi demanded government issue a clear statement condemning the attack on IRIS Dena.

'I demand that the government come out with a clear statement of condemnation and hold a press conference discussing the episode and its stance on the USIS attack on Iran in detail,' he demanded.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy has deployed INS Tarangini and INS Ikshak, along with maritime patrol aircraft, to assist in the Sri Lanka-led search and rescue operations for the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which sank on Wednesday after being struck by a US submarine torpedo.

The vessel sank on March 4, approximately 20 nautical miles west of Galle, after reportedly being struck by a torpedo from a United States submarine.

Of the estimated 180 crew members on board, approximately 87 sailors are reported dead, with roughly 32 survivors rescued by the Sri Lanka Navy and admitted to hospitals in Galle.

Sri Lanka has allowed another Iranian vessel, Irins Bushehr, to dock at the north-eastern port after it requested security amid the ongoing conflict with the US and Israel. (ANI)