Jaishankar's BIG revelation: 'Foreign Policy of past governments was influenced by votebank politics' (WATCH)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised allegations of Muslim appeasement influencing foreign policy under previous governments during a podcast appearance. Participating in the show 'Top Angle with Sushant Sinha', Jaishankar accused erstwhile administrations of engaging in votebank politics domestically and internationally.
FollowExternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has claimed that under previous governments, even foreign policy was influenced by Muslim appeasement. The allegation came while the minister was taking part in a podcast.Â
Taking part in the show 'Top Angle with Sushant Sinha', Jaishankar said votebank politics was being carried out both inside and outside the country by erstwhile governments.Â
Explaining further, he said: "Don't you think the Pakistan policy then had signs of votebank policy?" Citing another example, the minister said: "in 1948, Israel got its independence. But till 1992, India did not send its ambassador there. Even when you did send the envoy to Israel in 1992, till 2017 why did an Indian Prime Minister not visit there? Israel is not a small country. It has its own significance. They have been our partners when it comes to national security. So you kept a country like Israel afar... Even now, when the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack happened in Israel, some parties here had a major problem in terming it as a terrorist act. The world knows, we all know, what their politics is and where we stand. "
Jaishankar's latest remarks come days after his onslaught on the former UPA government, during an interaction with youth in Pune, Maharashtra. Referring to the Mumbai attack that occurred during the Congress-led UPA government's tenure, Jaishankar criticized the UPA government's response to the 26/11 attacks, stating that despite unanimous support for retaliation against Pakistan, the UPA government engaged in prolonged discussions and ultimately decided against it, citing the perceived higher cost of attacking Pakistan.
Jaishankar emphasized the importance of responding to terrorist attacks like the one in Mumbai, asserting that failure to do so could embolden terrorists to carry out further attacks. He underscored that terrorists do not adhere to any rules and that the response to terrorism cannot be governed by conventional norms.
Highlighting a shift in India's foreign policy since 2014, Jaishankar noted that there has been a significant change in the approach towards terrorism. He mentioned that while there is continuity in certain aspects of foreign policy, there has been a notable change in the approach to terrorism under the current government.
