Friday, March 29, 2024

Jaishankar confronts Rahul Gandhi within hours of his video-post





Foreign Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar today took to twitter to reply to Congress Party’s Rahul Gandhi’s three-minute video on India’s foreign policy.

Rahul Gandhi (see video below) had criticized India on counts in his video, raking up the Ladakh standoff issue and literally blamed India for China’s aggressive posturing on Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Jaishankar replied to Rahul Gandhi through a series of tweets which, it is best, are reproduced verbatim. So, this is how it read:

Rahul Gandhi has questions on Foreign Policy. Here are some answers:

Our major partnerships are stronger and international standing higher. Witness regular summits and informal meetings with the United States, Russia, Europe and Japan. India engages China on more equal terms politically.

Ask the analysts.

We speak our mind more openly now. On CPEC or BRI, on South China Sea, on UN-sanctioned terrorists etc.

Ask the media.

And address the border infrastructure imbalance legacy. Compared 2014-2020 with 2008-2014. Budget up by 280%, road building by 32%, bridges by 99% and tunnel by 6 times.

Ask our Jawans

And some facts on our neighbourhood:

The Hambantota Port agreement between Sri Lanka and China was concluded in 2008.

Ask those who dealt with it.

Difficult ties with Maldives, after India watched president Nasheed being toppled in 2012, now stand transformed.

Ask our businesses

A settled land boundary (2015) with Bangladesh; opens path to more development and transit. And terrorists no longer find safe haven there.

Ask our security.

Nepal after 17 years is getting Prime Ministerial visits. And a swathe of developmental projects: power, fuel, housing, hospital, roads etc.

Ask the citizens.

Bhutan finds a stronger security and development partner. And unlike 2013, they don’t worry about their cooking gas.

Ask their households.

Afghanistan sees completed projects (Salma Dam, Parliament), expanding training and serious connectivity

Ask the Afghan street.

And Pakistan (that you skipped) surely notes the difference between Balakot and Uri on the one hand, and Sharm-el-Sheikh, Havana and 26/11 on the other.

Ask Yourself.


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