By India Today News Desk: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the latter’s criticism of government’s handling of the China issue. “I would have offered to take classes on China from Rahul Gandhi, but I discovered he was taking classes on China from the Chinese ambassador,” EAM Dr S Jaishankar said in Mysuru, Karnataka.
The External Affairs Minister said, “Unfortunately, foreign policy has become an arena. On certain issues we’ve a collective responsibility to at least behave in a way in which we do not weaken our collective position abroad.”
Jaishankar said that often very “misleading narratives” are put in. He made reference to Rahul Gandhi’s remark suggesting that new territory has been lost to China’s salami slicing.
“We had, for example…a bridge which the Chinese were building on Pangong Tso in Ladakh. Now, the reality was that the particular area first Chinese came in 1959, and then they occupied it in 1962. But that’s not the way it was put across. This happened in the case of some of the so-called model villages as well, that they were built on areas which we lost in 62 or before 62. Now, I don’t believe…you will very rarely hear me say 1962, that shouldn’t have happened, or you are wrong, or you are responsible. What has happened has happened. It’s our collective failure or responsibility,” EAM Jaishankar said.
He added, “I do not necessarily attribute political colouring to it. I would like to see is actually a serious China conversation. I’m prepared to accept that there are different viewpoints on that, but if you reduce it to kind of slanging match, what can I say after that?”
In March this year, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar had lashed out at Rahul Gandhi over the remarks made by the Congress leader during his address in the UK. Speaking at India Today Conclave 2023, Jaishankar had said it was troubling as a citizen of India to see “somebody drooling over China”.
#WATCH | I would have offered to take classes on China from Rahul Gandhi, but I discovered he was taking classes on China from the Chinese ambassador. Unfortunately, foreign policy has become an arena. On certain issues we've a collective responsibility to at least behave in a… pic.twitter.com/VqVkecT6Nw
— ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2023
“When Panda huggers try to be China hawks… it doesn’t fly,” the EAM had said.
“You can have a point of view about a country, but you should not undermine the national morale,” the EAM said in a sharp counter to Rahul Gandhi.
