shot-button
Ganesh Chaturthi Ganesh Chaturthi
Home > News > India News > Article > Congress calls Jaishankar failed foreign minister slams remarks on China issue

Congress calls Jaishankar 'failed' foreign minister, slams remarks on China issue

Updated on: 22 February,2023 05:12 PM IST  |  New Delhi
PTI |

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also alleged that foreign policy has been reduced to photo-ops and a chest-thumping exercise and is being used to secure contracts for a businessman

Congress calls Jaishankar 'failed' foreign minister, slams remarks on China issue

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. File Pic

The Congress on Wednesday hit out at External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, calling him a "failed" minister and alleging that his remarks on the China issue have "demeaned" the valour of India's armed forces.


Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also alleged that foreign policy has been reduced to photo-ops and a chest-thumping exercise and is being used to secure contracts for a businessman.


She claimed that the minister had said that "we are the smaller economy and China is the bigger economy and we cannot go and pick a fight with them".


"What exactly does he mean by saying this? Is he telling us that we are not capable of protecting our territorial sovereignty," she said.

"What he is trying to do by saying this is essentially 'break and shake' the confidence of our Indian economy and demean the valour of our armed forces. This is one of the most blasphemous statements made by any foreign minister," she told reporters.

On Jaishankar's reported remark that he has been the longest-serving Indian Ambassador in China, the Congress said in that capacity will he tell when the status along the Line of Actual Control will be restored to the April 2020 position.

Also Read: We accept their leadership: Sharad Pawar on Kharge's remark that Congress-led alliance will come to power

"Why do the prime minister and you stay quiet on China? Why have we increased the trade deficit to 100 USD with China and we are almost funding the Chinese Army to do the incursions that they do," she said.

"As India's longest-serving Ambassador to China what do you have to say on Chinese aggression at the border," she asked.

She also criticised the minister for targeting the Congress-led governments over their China policy, saying, "You can keep attacking your political opponents but do not do this at the cost of our national security... some things are sacrosanct".

The Congress spokesperson also listed several steps taken by the UPA government to strengthen border infrastructure, including sanctioning of a 50,000 strong two new mountain divisions and stationing armoured units in Ladakh and Arunachal.

"Foreign policy is supposed to further the interests of this country. Foreign policy is not supposed to be a tool to manage and allocated projects from foreign countries to one business group - that is Adani," the Congress leader alleged.

Shrinate also spoke of reported remarks of Jaishankar's father K Subrahmanyam, who she said had written in 2002 after the Gujarat riots that religion has been attacked and "those who did not save innocent citizens are 'Asuras' (demons)".

"You may attack anyone, but you must listen to the words of the elderly who have wisdom and experience. You should listen to your father... He may be old but has wisdom and experience and you should listen to him," she said.

She claimed that the border with China was largely silent for 50 years after 1967, barring an incident in 1987 and asked why are there so many multiple incursions happening now.

She claimed the UPA government had in 2006 adopted the current active border infra policy and roads, and tunnels, actively marked, were mostly planned by the Shyam Saran task force in 2006.

The construction of roads, tunnels and high landing grounds for heavy aircraft began in 2008 and was largely completed by 2014, she claimed.

The Modi government has repeatedly accused the previous Congress-led governments of deliberately not working on infrastructure in the border areas. 

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!

Register for FREE
to continue reading !

This is not a paywall.
However, your registration helps us understand your preferences better and enables us to provide insightful and credible journalism for all our readers.

Mid-Day Web Stories

Mid-Day Web Stories

This website uses cookie or similar technologies, to enhance your browsing experience and provide personalised recommendations. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. OK