New Delhi: Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, February 3, for claiming that the Narendra Modi government’s policies had led Pakistan and China to grow closer, and criticising the lack of foreign chief guests for the Republic Day celebration.
During his speech in parliament on Tuesday, Gandhi stated that India has got isolated in the region. “The nation is at risk from outside and inside. and I don’t like that. This worries me,” he said.
He added that the “strategic goal of India should have been to keep China and Pakistan separate”.
“But what you have done is to bring them together. Do not underestimate what we are facing. This is a serious threat to India,” said Gandhi.
This led Jaishankar to assert that Gandhi needed “some history lessons” as the two nations had always been close for the last 70 years. He then tweeted a series of dates starting with those on the transfer of Aksai Chin and the construction of Karakoram highway.
He also pointed out that China and Pakistan had also collaborated in developing Islamabad’s nuclear program. Beijing also invested in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. “So, ask yourself: were China and Pakistan distant then?”.
While China-Pakistan collaboration goes back decades, many strategic affairs analysts have noted how the policies of the present government, especially in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have driven the two countries even closer.
During the two terms of the Modi government, relations with Pakistan have been at their nadir. The lowest point was in February 2019, when the two South Asian nations conducted airstrikes on each other’s territories.
The dissolution of the constitutional autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir led to further backsliding in relations with Pakistan and India downgrading diplomatic ties.
At the parliamentary debate on modifying Article 370 of the constitution, Indian home minister Amit Shah had forcefully reiterated that New Delhi considered Aksai Chin, administered by China, as an integral part of Kashmir. China then termed the carving up of Jammu and Kashmir as “unacceptable”.
The Congress MP had also highlighted that India did not have any guests for the Republic day parade this year, because the country is “completely isolated and surrounded”.
Jaishankar noted that “those who live in India know we were in the midst of a corona wave”. This was a reference to the ruling party’s criticism that Gandhi goes abroad frequently.
He further claimed five Central Asian presidents “who were to come” held a virtual summit with Indian Prime Minister Modi on January 27.
Jaishankar’s assertion that the Central Asian presidents were to be chief guests at the Republic Day is the first official confirmation from the Indian government.
The MEA never officially announced that the Central Asian leaders were to be chief guests, even though there had been speculation for weeks.
At a MEA briefing on January 6, reporters did ask whether the heads of the Central Asian republics would be the chief guests for the Republic Day parade. “As regards the Republic Day, as I’ve been saying you are aware that announcements of this nature are made at a suitable time. We will share with you details once that is finalised,” responded the MEA spokesperson.
This was the second consecutive year that there was no foreign chief guest for the Republic Day parade.
In 2020, there was an official announcement to postpone the visit of that year’s chief guest, UK prime minister Boris Johnson, in the light of the COVID-19 situation.