External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Friday said that life is not ‘khata-khat’ but it's about hard work and diligence. While interacting with the Indian community in Geneva, Jaishankar said that until one builds the infrastructure and human resources, have those policies in place, it is hard work and not merely 'khata-khat'.
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Friday said that life is not ‘khata-khat’ but it's about hard work and diligence. While interacting with the Indian community in Geneva, Jaishankar said that until one builds the infrastructure and human resources, have those policies in place, it is hard work and not merely 'khata-khat'.
Jaishankar emphasized that for anyone to become a major power in the world, one has to be good in manufacturing, because without manufacturing you cannot build the technology.
"There are people who would say, why are we importing so much from China... Throughout 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, governments neglected manufacturing... Now people wanted to find a fix... People said we are incapable and should not attempt. Ask yourself, can you be a major power in the world without manufacturing because major power needs technology. Nobody can develop technology without developing manufacturing… until we develop human resources which requires hard work, until you build infrastructure… so life in not khata-khat, it's hard work, diligence, so that’s a necessity that we have to work hard at it...,” Jaishankar said.
EAM Dr S Jaishankar in Geneva:
We have to import so much from China because previous governments ignored manufacturing sector. When we started building strong base, they demoralized us..Life is not KHATAKHAT, life is hard work'.. that's my message to you, we have to work hard.. pic.twitter.com/oAuRmVAsEJ
Interestingly, the phrase khata-khat which means ‘instant and fast’ was used by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during Lok Sabha election rallies when he used to say that if his party is elected to power, all the work in the country will be done ‘khata-khat’. He also spoke about how money would be transferred "khata-khat khata-khat" into accounts of women if the Congress came to power.
In a chaotic electoral echo chamber, Rahul Gandhi's "khatakhat khatakhat" caught public and political attention. INDIA bloc partner Samajwadi party's chief, Akhilesh Yadav, followed their lead too.
The Congress's "khatakhat, khatakhat" became the buzz phrase so much so that even PM Modi used it to attack the Opposition.
As Jaishankar used the phrase 'khata-khat’ while addressing the diaspora, the audience did react on it with a mild laugh, acknowledging that it was an apparent dig at Rahul Gandhi.