Rahul Gandhi in a tweet had said Prime Minister Modi was "scared" of China's Xi Jinping. (FILE)
Highlights
- Rahul Gandhi on Twitter accused the Prime Minister of being "weak"
- "Country's foreign policy is not determined on Twitter": Union Minister
- "Rahul Gandhi in a celebratory mood," says Ravi Shankar Prasad
China's move to block the global terrorist tag for Jaish-e Mohammad chief Masood Azhar turned into a full-blown political controversy overnight as the opposition accused the Prime Minister of compromising India's interests with his friendly overtures to China. The Congress set the ball rolling this morning, with party chief Rahul Gandhi accusing the Prime Minister of being "weak" and scared of Xi". The government and the BJP responded promptly, with Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad pointing out that "a country's foreign policy is not determined on Twitter".
Last evening, China issued an 11th hour objection to tag Masod Azhar a global terrorist -- under which he would have faced a freeze on his assets, a travel ban and an arms embargo. Its objection -- the fourth in a decade -- came on a resolution that had been backed by an unprecedented number of nations.
This morning, Rahul Gandhi tweeted:.
"Why is Rahul Gandhi in a celebratory mood when country is pained by China's attitude? He must be headlining in Pakistan," Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today.
The minister and his party both pointed out that China would not be in UN Security Council if not for Jawaharlal Nehru, Mr Gandhi's great grandfather and India's first Prime Minister.
Quoting from a book by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, a former UN official, Mr Prasad said Jawaharlal Nehru had declined the US offer to India for a permanent seat in the Security Council around 1953 and suggested that it be given to China.
Jawaharlal Nehru's refusal to take a permanent seat at the UN Security Council at the cost of China has been a matter of huge debate. That he refused two such offers -- one from Soviet Russia and one from the US -- has been documented, the reason for his refusal has been a matter of speculation.
Nehru's detractors have since accused him of harming India's national interest, especially after China has established deep trade and diplomatic relations with Pakistan and blocked India's efforts to get a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.
The BJP, which always attacked Mr Gandhi over the decisions of governments headed by his family members, has also accused him of secretly meeting Chinese ministers during his last year's tour to Manasarovar and during the Doklam border stand-off between the two countries.
"If you are so much close to Chinese establishment, then you should have used your relations to get the resolution passed," Ravi Shankar Prasad said today.
Earlier, Mr Gandhi said he has the right to meet the envoy. "It is my job to be informed on critical issues. I met the Chinese Ambassador, Ex-NSA, Congress leaders from NE & the Bhutanese Ambassador," he said in a tweet.