S Jaishankar Criticises "West's Bad Habit" For Remarks On Rahul Gandhi

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has criticized the West for its habit of commenting on internal matters of other countries.

"The West thinks it has a God-given right to comment on internal matters of other countries," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday.

Mr Jaishankar made the above remarks during a Sunday morning 'Meet and Greet' interaction organised by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan with over 500 young voters, joggers and visitors at Cubbon Park. It was the Foreign Minister's reaction to a question on Germany and the United States' remarks on the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a Member of Parliament.

Mr Jaishankar said, "I will give you the truthful answer (on why we see West commenting on India). There are two reasons. It is because the West has a bad habit of commenting on others. They somehow think it is some kind of God-given right. They will have to learn only by experience that if they keep doing this, other people will also start commenting and they will not like it when it happens. And I see that happening."

He added, "The second part of the truth - In our arguments, you are inviting the people to comment on you. Then more and more people are tempted to comment. We also need to stop giving generous invitations to the world saying there are problems in India, and (urging) America and the world (by saying), why are you standing by doing nothing? So if somebody from here goes and says why are you standing by and saying nothing, then obviously they are going to comment. Part of the problem is them, and part of the problem is us. And I think both need fixing."

Slamming the culture of freebies by political parties, Mr Jaishankar said, "This freebie culture - which some people in Delhi are masters of, they are doing it because they do not have the responsibility of raising resources. You can't run a country on the basis of freebies. Somewhere, somebody has to pay for it. Anybody who is giving a freebie here is taking away something elsewhere. Freebies are a way of getting quick popularity. It is an irresponsible way."

Notably, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha after a Gujarat Court convicted him in a 2019 defamation case for a remark using the surname 'Modi'. The court sentenced the Congress leader to 2 years imprisonment. The sentence was later suspended for 30 days during which Rahul Gandhi can appeal against his conviction.

The defamation case against Rahul Gandhi was filed by former BJP MLA Purnesh Modi.

After the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi's membership from the Lok Sabha, the Congress has been vocal in protests all over the country. The grand old party has been making an effort to rally like-minded Opposition players around it in the wake of Rahul's loss membership of in the Lower House.

Rahul Gandhi's disqualification is the latest in a series of flashpoints between the Congress and the ruling BJP, with a united Opposition calling it a ploy to divert public attention from the Adani issue.

Rahul Gandhi was elected to Lok Sabha in 2019 from Wayanad in Kerala. The party has said that it will challenge the Surat court verdict in a higher court.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)