External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar. (Image: EAM Jaishankar’s Twitter)
Jaishankar was referring to Gandhi’s meeting with the Chinese ambassador during the Doklam crisis to target Gandhi’s statement against him at an event organized by the Indian Journalists’ Association in London.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remark that he “does not understand the threat posed by China” and quipped that he would have “offered” to take classes but he learned that Rahul Gandhi was meeting the Chinese ambassador. were taking lessons.
“I would have offered Rahul Gandhi to take a class on China. But I came to know that he was taking classes on China from the Chinese ambassador. So I asked myself that I too can go to the original source and talk to him.
Jaishankar was referring to Gandhi’s meeting with the Chinese ambassador during the Doklam crisis in March to hit out at Gandhi’s statement against him at an event organized by the Indian Journalists’ Association in London.
The former Congress president had said, ‘When asked about military threats facing India, you have to deal with military threats. But you have to understand the nature of the threat and you have to respond to the nature of the threat. I think I had a conversation with the foreign minister, he doesn’t understand the danger.”
Maintaining India’s strong position abroad is a collective responsibility
Speaking at the event, the External Affairs Minister stressed the need for a collective responsibility to maintain India’s strong position abroad. “Unfortunately, foreign policy has also become an arena. I am not innocent and I am not saying that there should be no politics. Today I am in politics. I know everything is political in politics. But I think we have a collective responsibility on some issues to behave in such a way that we don’t undermine our collective position abroad.”
He cited the example of a bridge built by the Chinese at Pangong Tso, which he said was occupied by the area in 1962. He referred to the issue of so-called model villages built on areas lost before or during the 1962 war.
Jaishankar expressed his dismay at reducing the serious conversation on China to mere name-calling. He did not give any political color to the issue and called for collective responsibility to have a serious China dialogue with different points of view.
“What’s done is done. It’s our collective, I would say, failure or responsibility. I’m not necessarily giving it a political color. I want to see that this is really a serious China conversation. I’m ready to accept that.” I am ready that there are different points of view on that, but if you reduce it to a kind of slanging match, what can I say after that?” He said.
In March, Jaishankar criticized Gandhi for his comments about China during the India Today Conclave in New Delhi.
The minister had said that it does not make any sense when people who are friendly with China suddenly try to take strict action against China. Jaishankar further pointed out that Gandhi had spoken praise about China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), even comparing it to China’s Yellow River. “He compares, very poetically, I must say, the BRI going forward with the Yellow River in China. The BRI goes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It violates our national integrity and sovereignty. He doesn’t have a word to say about it,” he had said.
Meanwhile, Gandhi has been vocal about his criticism of the BJP-led Center’s handling of the India-China border issue. He has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that “no one has entered India’s territory,” as an invitation to China to repeat its actions following the Galwan Valley scuffle in 2020. I don’t understand the danger because that statement is a message to China that they can do it again.
‘If I have a good guest, I am a good host’: Jaishankar on Pak FM Bilawal
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar also spoke about his conversation with Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization foreign ministers’ meeting in Goa, saying he was a “good host of a good guest”.
Jaishankar said that Pakistan conducts terrorism and claims its right to do terrorism. The minister said that Pakistan is a member of SAARC which does not follow the basic rules of international relations, supports terror and blocks connectivity. He said that it is not in India’s interest to remain locked in continued hostilities with Pakistan and that India needs to stand up and draw its red lines.
Jaishankar emphasized that if a neighboring India attacks a city, “it should not be business as usual.”
read all latest politics news And karnataka election 2023 update here