Congress' Anand Sharma reacts to Jaishankar's take on Rahul Gandhi's 'foreign policy' jibe

Coming to Rahul Gandhi's rescue, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma hit out at External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for defending a 'directionless foreign policy' under his leadership. In a series of tweets on Saturday, Sharma accused Jaishankar of attempting to create illusions and rebuked the Foreign Minister's point-by-point response to former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for his criticism of the Modi government. He highlighted that 'rhetoric and tweets' do not change ground reality. 

'History will judge you by outcomes'

The Congress MP highlighted that the 'present drift' in the relation between India and Nepal and added that the Foreign Minister cannot have the 'luxury of denial' but should answer for the 'failures.' He also accused Jaishankar of using every brave action of the Armed Forces for 'partisan propaganda.' Furthermore, Sharma went on to 'advise' the EAM in 'national interest' and stated that he should not 'politicise or monopolise' the defence forces. 

"Foreign policy must have gravitas and depth. Engagements with strategic partners demand seriousness and cannot be trivialised and reduced to event management. You may create illusions by your optics, but history will judge you by outcomes," Sharma concluded. 

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Rahul Gandhi on Friday shared his thoughts on the border conflict while underlying that India’s vulnerability has allowed China to increase tensions along the border. In a video shared on Twitter, the former Congress chief said that since 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s "mistakes and lack of discretion has weakened India", thus allowing its enemies to launch attacks.

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In a series of tweets, S Jaishankar had hit back, 'answering' the points raised by the Wayanad MP. He said India's major partnerships with the likes of the United States, Russia, Japan, Europe, etc. are stronger and international standing higher. "India engages China on more equal terms politically," said the EAM, in an apparent reference to the handling of border tensions and trade.

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