PM foreign policy bad for India, says Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi referred to the overwhelming Chinese presence in India’s neighbourhood, even as his party slammed the Modi government’s foreign policy, saying it was “confused” and conducted in a “cavalier manner” which has damaged India’s profile globally.

“China is everywhere ... It is in Doklam ...”, said Mr Gandhi, who then proceeded to reel off the names of several countries in India’s immediate neighbourhood in which the Chinese have significant presence and influence. The reference to Doklam in Bhutanese territory was also significant since India and China had a military stand-off there last year that was resolved after intense negotiations between the two sides. While foreign policy observers had seen the Doklam disengagement as a victory of India’s resolve, subsequent reports indicated that a humiliated Chinese PLA had built massive infrastructure in that area away from the face-off site.

The Congress, meanwhile, on Sunday slammed the Modi government’s foreign policy, saying it was “confused” and conducted in a “cavalier manner” which has damaged India’s profile globally.

The party, in a resolution adopted at its 84th plenary session, accused the NDA government of pursuing a foreign policy “bereft of focus and direction”.

The resolution, moved by senior party leader Anand Sharma and seconded by party MP Gaurav Gogoi, said the prime minister has pursued a personalised foreign policy and his foreign engagements have been reduced to merely being “transactional”.

“Congress expresses its concern over the conduct of foreign policy in a cavalier manner, which has damaged India’s profile globally and undermined national interest,” the resolution on foreign policy said. “Foreign policy has always been marked with continuity with the backing of a strong national consensus. Unfortunately, the BJP government has disrupted it, and its ill-advised actions have unravelled the national consensus,” it said. The resolution also alleged that the government was carried away by its own propaganda, and has “mismanaged” India’s relations with major partner countries.