Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday created a flutter by raking up the issue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘not’ being invited for coronation of US President Donald Trump last month to which the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar dismissed the claim as false and accused the Congress of harming India’s global image.
Jaishankar asserted that no discussion about an invitation to Prime Minister Modi ever took place and pointed out that the Prime Minister does not attend such events. Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju too strongly objected to the remarks. “It is common knowledge that our PM does not attend such events. In fact, India is generally represented by Special Envoys,” he clarified. Jaishankar represented India at Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. He was seated in the first row during the ceremony.
Mocking the Central government during Motion of Thanks on the President’s address in Lok Sabh, Rahul claimed that if the Modi government had taken economic policies seriously, then the government would not have had to send Foreign Minister S Jaishankar to the US to get an invitation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony.
“When we talk to the United States, we would not send the Foreign Minister three-four times to get an invite for our Prime Minister because if we had a production system and we were working on these technologies, the US President would come here and invite the Prime Minister,” said Rahul.
Rijiju said the LoP cannot make such serious, unsubstantiated statements. “This is about the relationship between two countries. He is making unverified statements about the invitation of our Prime Minister. He should be responsible. If the Leader of the Opposition has the information, he must tell the House who has told him that the Foreign Minister visited for this purpose,” Rijiju said.
Replying to him, Rahul Gandhi said he would apologise for disturbing the Parliamentary Affairs Minister peace of mind but the Congress leader continued with another his jab raking up the China issue and said that the Indian Army contradicted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claims about Chinese army intrusion in Ladakh.
“The Prime Minister has denied it and the Army has contradicted the Prime Minister that China is sitting on 4000 sq km of our territory...,” said Rahul to which Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla mentioned that the LoP will have to present the evidence of what he was speaking in the House.”
During his address, Rahul further also said both the NDA and UPA governments faltered in generating adequate employment. “Even though we have grown, we’ve grown fast, growing slightly slower now, but we are growing. A universal problem that we have faced is that we have not been able to tackle the problem of unemployment. Neither the UPA government nor today’s NDA government has given a clear-cut answer to the youth of this country about employment,” he said.
Through his social media posts, Jaishankar accused Rahul Gandhi of making misleading statements for political advantage, saying that such remarks harm India’s standing on the global stage. “Rahul Gandhi’s lies may be intended politically. But they damage the nation abroad,” he stated.
Jaishankar dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s claim that the Indian government sent him to the US to secure an invitation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony.
“Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi deliberately spoke a falsehood about my visit to the US in December 2024. I went to meet the Secretary of State and NSA of the Biden Administration. Also, to chair a gathering of our Consuls General. During my stay, the incoming NSA-designate met with me,” Jaishankar said in his rebuttal in a social media post.