Cong's Jairam Ramesh slams PM's 'brutally exposed' foreign policy

Congress's Jairam Ramesh slams the Centre's foreign policy as 'brutally exposed.' He cites failures in handling US-Pakistan ties, China, the Iran crisis, a flawed US trade deal, and alleges the PM's silence on key US assertions.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Centre's foreign policy, calling it "brutally exposed" and listing "failures" ranging from US-Pakistan relations to the handling of China and the recent Iran crisis.

In a detailed post on X, Ramesh stated, "India's foreign policy under the self-styled Vishwaguru stands brutally exposed, notwithstanding all the grandstanding on it by the cheerleaders of the PM, led by himself." He alleged that the US continued to maintain close ties with Pakistan and raised concerns over remarks made in the context of terror attacks and regional tension.

US-Pakistan Relations and Regional Tensions

"The US President continues his romance with Pakistan, applauding again and again the very man whose inflammatory remarks provided the backdrop to the terror attacks in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. The US has also categorically come out in support of Pakistan's war on Afghanistan," Ramesh said.

Ramesh also questioned the government's response to claims by the US leadership regarding its role in halting Operation Sindoor in May 2025, stating that the Prime Minister has not publicly addressed these assertions. "The US President has, at last count, claimed a hundred times that he had intervened to halt Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025, using the threat of increased tariffs on India's exports to the US. But the PM is completely silent on these assertions of President Trump. The first announcement of the halt to Operation Sindoor was made by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 5:37 PM on May 10, 2025," he stated.

'One-Sided' India-US Trade Deal

On the India-US trade deal, Ramesh said, "On February 2nd, 2026, President Trump declared that - at Mr Modi's request - the India-US trade deal had been finalised and is coming into effect immediately. That this was a desperate move by Mr Modi, who was attempting to divert the headlines from the issues raised by @RahulGandhi in Parliament, is clearly obvious."

He added, "Eighteen days later, the US Supreme Court announced that President Trump's tariff strategy that formed the foundations of the India-US trade deal was illegal and unconstitutional. This decision was widely expected, but Mr Modi pressured President Trump to sign the trade deal for his own political calculations."

Ramesh further criticised the trade deal, alleging that it was one-sided and that India had made significant commitments on imports without corresponding assurances from the United States.

Concerns Over West Asia Policy

He further raised concerns over India's foreign policy approach towards West Asia, including developments related to Israel and Iran, and accused the government of deviating from India's traditional diplomatic principles. "Mr. Modi visited Israel on Feb 25-26 2026, at a time when the entire world was aware that a US-Israel military attack on Iran for regime change was imminent. The assault began just two days after Mr. Modi left Israel where his speech to the Knesset was a display of shameful moral cowardice. The Modi Govt's response to the war unleashed on Iran that has involved targeted assassinations has been a betrayal of India's values, principles, concerns, and interests," he said.

'Clean Chit' to China

On China, Ramesh stated, "Mr. Modi gave a clean chit to China publicly on June 19, 2020. This shocking statement came even as twenty of our brave jawans were martyred on the border in Ladakh. The clean chit greatly weakened our negotiating position and we are now being compelled to normalize relations with China on Chinese terms and conditions."

Concluding his criticism, Ramesh said, "The nation is paying a heavy price for both the substance and style of Mr. Modi's foreign policy."

Kashmiri Students Stranded in Iran

Meanwhile, National Convenor of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, Nasir Khuehami, on Saturday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting the evacuation of around 1200 Kashmiri students from the affected Iranian territories after the United States and Israel launched military strikes at Iran.

The US and Israel launched a massive aerial campaign targeting Iran's leadership and military, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several senior officials. Iran retaliated with missile attacks on US bases, Israel, and other targets in the Middle East. (ANI)

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