Jaishankar’s jab at opposition: What kind of ‘INDIA’ are you? | India News

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Thursday hit out at the opposition parties for constant sloganeering during his suo moto speech on PM Modi’s recent foreign visits in the Rajya Sabha.

The opposition claims to represent ‘INDIA’, the name of their alliance, yet they refuse to listen to matters concerning India’s national interests, Jaishankar said. He questioned the kind of India they are portraying if they cannot prioritize such important discussions.
He expressed deep disappointment in the opposition’s focus on “partisan politics,” considering it a regrettable state of affairs.

Jaishankar spoke suo moto in the Rajya Sabha to brief members about the successes of India’s foreign policy and PM Modi’s recent visits abroad.
“I wanted to inform the House of the developments made in the past month. You saw a very successful visit of the PM to the US…I felt bad that the opposition was not ready to listen. It seemed that they wanted to criticise any and every achievement of the country,” said Jaishankar.
“Foreign policy is one area where we must work together. If there is a dispute between each other in the country, we should keep India’s image united outside the country,” added Jaishankar.
“We may debate within the country but outside the country, we should display a united front. Opposition’s conduct today should be looked into, when it comes to the national interest, politics should be set aside and it should be appreciated,” the external affairs minister said.
“If you cannot respect the president, cannot respect the vice president, cannot respect the prime minister, if you won’t allow the foreign minister to make a statement in the House; then it’s a very sorry state of affairs,” he said.
The INDIA alliance MPs were wearing black clothes on Thursday to register their protest against the Manipur violence.
(With inputs from agencies)