Congress: Nothing for India, it’s a setback

The Congress on Friday said India has suffered a “setback” as it has failed to gain entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group in the backdrop of China playing a spoiler.

“Unfortunately, when the NSG met on Thursday night, on the question of admission of new members essentially to consider India’s application, nothing really came out of that meeting and so in real terms, it has really been a setback for India rather than something to be proud of,” party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters.

Tearing apart claims of the government and the BJP that the PM’s just-concluded tour to several countries, including the US, as a big strategic and diplomatic success, he dismissed as a “big zero” the sum total of the foreign visits and foreign policy initiatives.

“Never ever in the past almost three decades, China has taken such an absolutely hostile position to India whether on the question of the Nuclear Suppliers Group or even getting the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Maulana Masood Azhar labelled as terrorist entity,” Mr Tewari said.

He said China “has never been so belligerent in the past 29 years”.

“China is extremely crucial and has a sensitive relationship with India but has never been so belligerent in the past 29 years ever since late PM Rajiv Gandhi broke the ice with China in 1987,” he said.

Mr Tewari further said there has not been a single new idea, a single big idea in the Indo-US relationship in the last two years since Modi became PM.”The only one thread which the NDA-BJP Government and the Prime Minister have been taking forth is the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Energy Pact which was incubated and finally consummated during the UPA Government.

“This Prime Minister has suddenly woken up to the virtues of the Civil Nuclear Energy. If I recall correctly, on 12th Sept 2008, while addressing the BJP National Executive, he had stated that the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement is a sell-out. It compromises India’s National security.

“So, therefore, between 2008 and 2016, there seems to be a sudden change of heart and what was national security threat in 2008 has now become the biggest swan song of both the Prime Minister and his Government.”, he remarked.

He took a dig at BJP president Amit Shah for his reported remarks that the MTCR would help India become an arms exporter.

“Possibly the BJP needs to understand that the Missile Technology Control Regime is about controlling proliferation of missiles. It is not about making a country into a net arms exporter. So, this is the limited understanding which the BJP and its President unfortunately have about international affairs.”, he said.

“If you look at the Prime Minister and his Government’s foreign policy, in a comprehensive perspective over the past two years, India has neither gained diplomatically, neither strategically, neither economically and neither militarily”. “The sum total of Prime Minister’s foreign visits and foreign policy initiatives, is unfortunately a big Zero”, Tewari said..