New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday (August 14) stressed the need for “respect” and “mutual understanding” in India’s ties with Italy after a remark concerning Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at a Congress event triggered a political controversy.

Responding to a question about "Rahul Gandhi’s remarks" and the reference to the Italian premier at a political event, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal did not directly address the Congress leader’s criticism of Modi. Instead, he pointed to the strengthening of India-Italy ties in recent years and said diplomatic relations should be conducted with respect for each other.

“We have strong ties with Italy. Our ties with Italy in recent years have expanded and strengthened in every which way,” Jaiswal said. “It is important that as part of diplomatic practice that we strengthen our ties, keeping in mind and being respectful of each other and this mutual understanding between the two sides.”

Gandhi, speaking at a national convention of Rachnatmak Congress in New Delhi on Thursday  (August 13) had questioned the idea that foreign policy was about personal chemistry between political leaders.

“Imagine the ignorance … where did he get the idea that foreign policy was about hugging leaders,” Gandhi said, referring to Modi. He then bear-hugged Rachnatmak Congress chief Sandeep Dikshit to illustrate his point.

Dikshit then responded with a reference to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, asking Gandhi, “Ek cheez pooch sakta hoon? Meloni samajh ke toh nahi pakda tha?” Gandhi replied laughing, “I have not reached there yet.”

The exchange came as Gandhi was attacking the Modi government and the BJP-RSS more broadly, accusing them of imposing a political “order” on India rather than allowing people to express themselves, and described the BJP-RSS as a “bunch of jokers” and “clowns”.

The reference to Meloni also comes against the backdrop of Modi and the Italian prime minister cultivating a highly personalised public image of their relationship, including through social media. Their interactions have generated the portmanteau “Melodi”, combining their names, which has been repeatedly used by supporters and media outlets to describe their camaraderie.

During Modi’s visit to Italy in May this year, Meloni posted a selfie video in which she thanked Modi for the gift of Parle’s Melody toffees, a play on the “Melodi” nickname. The video went viral, attracting more than 110 million views on her social media accounts within about six hours.

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