After a heated session in the Lok Sabha on February 3, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s comments, the Minister of External Affairs S Jaiꦐshankar responded that statements like these hurt our nation abr🐲oad.
“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. At no stage was an invitation in respect of the PM discussed. It is common knowledge that our PM does not attend such events. In fact, India is generally represented by Special Envoys. Rahul Gandhi’s lies may be intended politically. But they damage the nation abroad,” Jaishankar said in a tweet.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi said that we do not send our Foreign Minister to re꧒quest an invitation for the PM to the coronation. “When we talk to the USA, we would not send our Foreign Minister multiple times to request an invitation for the Prime Minister to the coronation,” Gandhi said, speaking in Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar represented India at the swearing-in ceremony of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20. This head comes at a time when the MEA said on January 31 that India and the United States were working towards an early visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US to further deepen the India-US 🍒Comprehensive Global Strategic partnership.
The remark angered the treasury benches and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju strongly opposed the statement. Rijiju said that “such an unsubstantiated claim" regarding India’s foreign policy could not be allowed in the parliament. “The Leader of Opposition cannot make such a serious unsubstantial statement. This concerns the relationship between two countries, and he is making an unverified claim about the Prime Minist🌼er’s invitation," Rijiju said.
