On Saturday, March 17, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar slammed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi saying that it was troubling as a citizen to see somebody ‘drooling over China’. This comes days after Rahul Gandhi said that the EAM does not understand the threat posed by China to India.
Speaking at the India Today Conclave in New Delhi, EAM Jaishankar said, “I followed what all Rahul Gandhi said when he was in the UK, a lot of it was politics, so I am keeping that aside as there is some discount when it comes to politics. I am troubled as a citizen of India to see someone drooling over China and being dismissive about India.”
EAM Jaishankar also pointed out the ‘description’ used by Rahul Gandhi for China in his Cambridge remarks. “He puts his suo motu description of China in the Cambridge talk, you know harmony is the word that comes to his mind while talking about China. His one-word description of China is harmony and for India it is discord.
In response to Rahul Gandhi’s assertion that India is “afraid of China,” Jaishankar said, “Rahul Gandhi talks admiringly of China. He says China is the greatest manufacturer and says ‘Make In India’ won’t work. When you make Covaxin, the Congress party says Covaxin won’t work.
‘Rahul Gandhi was gushing over Belt and Road which violates India’s integrity’: S Jaishankar slams Rahul Gandhi for his ‘China-love’
Moreover, S Jaishankar said that there is nothing wrong with the objective assessment of the progress of other countries but undermining the morale of your own country.
“You are saying I am scared, I am asking why is somebody undermining national morale like this,” EAM Jaishankar said.
The minister also criticized the Congress scion for hailing China’s Belt and Road initiative and comparing it to the Yellow river in China. He outlined the fact that the ‘Belt and Road’ violates India’s national integrity and sovereignty, as it passes through the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
“He is gushing over the Belt and Road and compares it to the Yellow river in China. The Belt and Road goes through PoK and it violates our national integrity and sovereignty and he does not a have a word to say about it,” EAM Jaishankar said.
When Panda huggers try to be China hawks, EAM Jaishankar stated, “It doesn’t fly,” in a stern rejoinder to Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi hails China and its Belt and Road initiative
It is worth mentioning that during his lecture ‘Learning to Listen in the 21st Century’ at the Cambridge Judge Business School earlier this month, the Congress scion heaped praises on China as his presentation slide noted the country as an ‘aspiring superpower’ and a ‘force of nature’.
“The Chinese value harmony in the same manner that Americans value individual liberty. As a result of severe tremors, immense suffering, a cultural revolution, and civil war, China does not place a high priority on individual liberty; rather, it places a greater emphasis on social harmony,” Rahul Gandhi said at Cambridge.
Lauding the Belt and Road initiative, Rahul Gandhi claimed that a prominent Communist Party leader told him once that China would be in disarray if it could not harness the Yellow River. He adds China, therefore, examines energy, flow, and processes before it shapes them.
“So China looks at energy, flow, and processes and then tries to shape them. If you use this metaphor, you can see what Belt and Road is,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Interestingly, Rahul Gandhi has time and again expressed his admiration for China. Last year as well in a conversation with The Print columnist Shruti Kapila at the Cambridge University event, Rahul Gandhi praised Belt and Road and claimed that China wanted the countries around it to prosper.
S Jaishankar on US Ambassador Eric Garcetti
During his conversation with anchor Rahul Kanwal, EAM Jaishankar also spoke about Eric Garcetti, the newly appointed US Ambassador to India and his views regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Notably, Garcetti had said the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was discriminatory towards Muslims and that the law would be a core piece of his engagement.
EAM Jaishankar on being asked about Garcetti and his statements on CAA, Jaishankar said, “I explained to different countries to look at your citizenship criteria and tell me are you less specific in your citizenship criteria than we have.”
He cited various amendments pertaining to citizenship in the United States and European countries on the basis of language, culture, and faith.
When interrupted by Rahul Kanwal that India does not have one faith, EAM Jaishankar explained that everything cannot be seen from the point of view of political correctness.
“In many cases, people have nowhere else to go than India. Suppose if you are a Hindu in Pakistan who is oppressed, where else will you go if not India? You should not subject common sense to political correctness. On your question about the US Ambassador, let him come, Pyar Se Samjha Denge (We will explain it to him with love),” EAM Jaishankar said.
“Europe, United States.. so many other countries have faster way to citizenship. Why single out CAA in India? Where else do the Hindus go? Let US ambassador come, pyar se samjha denge”
— Monica Verma (@TrulyMonica) March 18, 2023
Dr. S. Jaishankar 👏 pic.twitter.com/tFVaxVohAJ
Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)
The Citizenship Amendment Act is a law passed by the Indian Parliament that is directed toward providing citizenship rights to people who belong to minority religions in the neighboring Islamic countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The Act also reduces the minimum term required to stay in India before applying for citizenship by naturalization to five years instead of 11 years. Thus, the law applies to Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, and Christians from the specified neighboring Islamic countries.
