NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Monday slammed the Congress party and questioned the role of a missing American nuclear device near the Nanda Devi mountain in the Himalayas, linking it to recent natural disasters in India.

In a post on X, Dubey attached a copy of a 1978 letter from members of the US Congress addressed to the US President. The letter expressed concern about the CIA's secret operation and the potential radioactive leak from the lost plutonium-powered device in the Himalayas.

The lawmakers had urged the US government to investigate the matter and take responsibility if the claims were true.

He referred to a past CIA operation in the 1960s, which allegedly involved placing nuclear-powered surveillance equipment on the Nanda Devi peak to monitor Chinese activities. One such device reportedly went missing after being buried by an avalanche, raising concerns that it may have leaked radioactive material.

Dubey asked whether the Kedarnath disaster, the Teesta River flooding, melting glaciers in Gangotri and Yamunotri, and even the decreasing water level of the Ganga River could be linked to this incident.

He also alleged that the Nehru-Gandhi family, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, had surrendered to foreign interests, harming India's environment and its farmers.

"The Nehru-Gandhi family bowing before America Rahul Gandhi ji, the Congress Party, and the destruction of farmers with India's faith. Did the Kedarnath disaster happen due to America's nuclear material that disappeared from above the Nanda Devi mountain peak in the 1960s? Is the same reason behind the flooding of the Teesta River? Are the melting glaciers of Gangotri-Yamunotri and the continuous decrease in the Ganga's water, responsible for the farmers' destruction, due to Nehru ji's surrender by the Congress Party?" the post read.

In the 1960s, Indian and American intelligence agencies reportedly carried out a joint mission to place a nuclear-powered monitoring station near the summit. After one device was lost during the operation, a search mission failed to recover it, sparking fears of long term environmental damage.