External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar launched a blistering attack at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his recent remarks on China during his UK visit, saying he is troubled to see the Congress leader “drooling over” China while being dismissive about India.
Gandhi recently slammed Jaishankar over his remarks that India cannot pick a fight with China as the latter has a bigger economy than New Delhi and said “it is not nationalism but cowardice”.
Speaking at an interactive session at the India Today conclave, Jaishankar said that Rahul Gandhi’s one-word description of China is “harmony” and his one-word description of India is “discord”.
“I also, like many others, followed some of what Rahul Gandhi said when he was in the UK. Obviously a lot of it is politics. I am putting that aside. There is a discount when it comes to politics,” the External Affairs Minister said replying to a question.
“I am troubled as a citizen of India when I see somebody drooling over China and being dismissive about India. And I would give you examples. He puts his description suo motu of China in that Cambridge talk. You know what’s the word that comes to his mind when he talks of China, ‘harmony’. His one-word description of China is harmony; his one word description of India is discord,” Jaishankar added, PTI reported.
Citing Gandhi’s comments relating to China’s manufacturing capabilities, Jaishankar accused him of undermining India’s national morale.
“He talks admiringly of how China is the greatest manufacturer, nobody can… And yes China has done a tremendous job and nobody. But when it comes to manufacturing in India, he runs it down in every possible way. He says ‘Make in India’ won’t work,” Jaishankar said.
“You can have objective assessments of the progress of other countries. There is nothing wrong with that. But in this current situation, to talk of a competitive relationship…,” he added.
Rahul Gandhi recently came under sharp criticism over his comments at the Cambridge University that Indian democracy is under attack and several political leaders, including himself, are under surveillance.
The Congress leader also took a dig at Jaishankar for his remarks on China during an interview.
“If you notice the statement of the Foreign Minister, he said China is much more powerful than us. To think China is more powerful than us, how can I pick a fight with them? At the heart of the ideology is cowardice,” Gandhi had said.
