Jaishankar rebuts Rahul Gandhi; lists why India's international standing is 'higher' now

Rebuking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his criticism of the Modi government's foreign policy, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar gave a point by point rebuttal on his charges by citing the difference between the policy of the erstwhile UPA government and the present dispensation.

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.

In a series of tweets, S Jaishankar 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.

Jaishankar said India now speaks her mind more openly on contentious issues like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that violates Indian sovereignty, on Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), on maritime disputes in the South China Sea, and on United Nations-sanctioned terrorists who are harboured in Pakistan. "Ask the media," he suggested Gandhi validate.

The EAM said the government has addressed the border infrastructure imbalance legacy. "Compare 2014-20 with 2008-14. Budget up by 280%, road building by 32%, bridges by 99% and tunnels by 6 times. Ask the jawans," wrote Jaishankar.

He pointed out Rahul Gandhi 'skipping' the topic of Pakistan and said Islamabad surely notes the difference between Balakot and Uri (the air and surgical strikes against terror launch pads in POK) on the one hand and Sharm-el-Sheikh, Havana and 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks on the other.

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Response on neighbourhood relations

The Rajya Sabha MP also turned to India's neighbourhood and recounted the Hambantota Port agreement between Sri Lanka and China that was concluded in 2008 (under UPA). Colombo couldn't pay back the debt owed to Beijing and had to lease out the strategically located port to China for 99 years. "Ask those who dealt with it," said Jaishankar.

The diplomat-turned-politician then listed a series of shortcomings made on the front with fellow South Asian neighbours pre-2014, from the Maldives to Afghanistan to Bhutan. He highlighted the landmark 2015 border agreement with Bangladesh that settled disputes across the porous border. 

Rahul Gandhi and his party have been cornering the Modi government over its handling of the recent border tensions with China in Ladakh, the immigrant visa issue with the US and rhetoric coming from Nepal over its incorporating of Indian territories in its new political map. The BJP has been steady to hit back, although Jaishankar's response can be gauged as being perhaps the loudest yet from the establishment.

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