Apr 03, 2025 04:42 PM IST
Rahul Gandhi said the BJP and its ideological fount, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), have a specific philosophy on foreign policy and they bow their heads before foreign powers
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday warned that United States (US) President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 27% reciprocal tariff rate against India poses a risk for the Indian agriculture, auto, and pharmaceutical industries, as he attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government’s foreign policy.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, he said the tariffs would lead to the “devastation” of the economy. He referred to an event marking the 75 years of India-China diplomatic ties and said he was shocked to see the Indian foreign secretary cutting a cake with the Chinese ambassador there. “The question is, what exactly is happening to the territory [the Chinese occupy]?” …Is our foreign secretary celebrating the martyrdom of 20 Army personnel?” he said, referring to the Galwan clash with Chinese troops that left 20 Indian soldiers dead in June 2020. He claimed China has occupied 4,000 square kilometers of the Indian territory.
Gandhi said he was not against normalcy, but the status quo has not been restored, and India is yet to reclaim its land. He claimed that information about the Prime Minister and the President’s communications with China was withheld. “We are not finding out from our government. It is the Chinese ambassador who is informing the people of India that the Prime Minister and the President of India have written to them,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi said foreign policy is about “managing external relations.” He said that the BJP and its ideological fount, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), have a specific philosophy on foreign policy. Gandhi added they bow their heads before foreign powers. “It is in their [BJP/RSS] culture and history, we know that.”
Gandhi recounted his late grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s stance on foreign policy. “Someone once asked her, ‘In matters of foreign policy, do you lean left or right?’ And Indira Gandhi ji answered, ‘I do not lean left or right; I stand straight. I am Indian, and I stand straight’.”
