Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday backed Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the government’s foreign policy, saying India must safeguard its dignity and self-respect and cannot become a “subservient follower” of any country, regardless of its power or India’s needs.
Speaking to ANI, Khurshid said Gandhi had raised important questions about diplomatic symbolism, India’s engagement with other countries and the need to protect the country’s autonomy. He said foreign policy matters should be taken seriously and not treated like a “college debate competition”.
Khurshid questioned the outcomes of the government’s foreign policy, citing the absence of a trade deal, concerns over H-1B visas and the deportation of Indians in handcuffs. He urged the government to demonstrate tangible results rather than merely praising its diplomatic achievements.
Explaining the importance of diplomatic symbolism, Khurshid said a country’s capital represented its wider political and institutional system. He argued that engaging with specific cities while bypassing the capital could create the impression that the broader relationship was not being given sufficient importance. Comparing it with the United States, he said a person seeking to strengthen ties with the President would not be expected to visit Texas while completely bypassing Washington.
Khurshid said courtesy visits should not be confused with formal diplomatic engagements or summits. Referring to the 1972 Shimla Summit between then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistan’s Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, he said such meetings required extensive preparation, consultations and the drafting of documents before their venue and format were finalised.
He said the Congress supported good relations with the United States, Russia, China and Europe, but maintained that India must preserve its strategic autonomy. No matter how powerful another country was or how much India needed it, he said, the country must remain capable of making its own decisions.
On allegations that Rahul Gandhi met “anti-national forces” during overseas visits, Khurshid said a distinction must be made between official responsibilities and private engagements. He said public representatives had to provide relevant details when seeking government permission for official travel, while private travel and personal meetings were subject to different considerations. He also rejected the practice of branding people as traitors simply because of their political opinions.
Khurshid defended the right to protest, questioning whether criticism of demonstrations implied that people should remain silent when they believed something had gone wrong. He said constitutional rights allowed people to express their views and that investigative agencies should act on credible information or a reasonable basis rather than routinely monitoring people’s private interactions.
Addressing the opposition’s demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, Khurshid said decisions within the Election Commission must be supported either unanimously by all three commissioners or by at least two of the three members. He argued that decisions failing to meet this requirement could violate constitutional and legal provisions, adding that their legality and the consequences of any violation needed to be examined.
Khurshid’s remarks came amid a political confrontation over Gandhi’s overseas engagements and allegations by the BJP that the Congress leader had associated with individuals whose positions were contrary to India’s interests.
(With agency inputs from ANI)