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New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Tuesday launched a scathing political attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy, saying it has been dangerously “personalised” and reduced to just hugging global leaders.
His comments came in response to US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that he had personally brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Aiyar said, “Foreign policy should never be personalised.”
On the ruling BJP-led central government’s claim that the country has made major achievements in the international arena, the veteran Congress leader replied, “The biggest mistake of this government is to present diplomacy as an individual achievement.”
Aiyar said, “Just by saying that Prime Minister Modi embraced most leaders and made friends everywhere, we cannot claim that India has become number one in the world. The entire foreign service should be used to build relationships – and the government should consult those who have foreign policy experience.”
On the tariff issue and Trump’s repeated threats on the ongoing import of oil from Russia, the veteran Congress leader said, “As per my knowledge, public sector companies in the oil sector are no longer buying oil from Russia. Only private institutions are buying oil.”
Responding to the lighting of a record-breaking 26 lakh lamps in Ayodhya during the Deepotsav, which the BJP described as a victory for Sanatan Dharma, Aiyar said: “I am an atheist, so I have nothing to say.”
The comments – a mix of sarcasm and criticism – reflect Aiyar’s continued disapproval of the Narendra Modi government’s foreign policy and the BJP’s increasing use of religion in political discourse.
–IANS
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