‘GRAND EVENTS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EFFECTIVE DIPLOMACY’

NEWDELHI: The Congress on Sunday attacked PM Narendra Modi for pursuing a “personalised foreign policy” and claimed that “grand events and photo opportunities cannot be a substitute to effective diplomacy”.

In a resolution adopted at its 84th plenary session, it accused the NDA government of pursuing a foreign policy that is “confused and bereft” of focus and direction. The resolution, moved by senior leader Anand Sharma and seconded by party MP Gaurav Gogoi, said the PM has conducted it in a “cavalier” manner, which “damaged” India’s profile globally, with his foreign engagements being reduced to merely being “transactional”.

“Foreign policy has always been marked with continuity with the backing of a strong national consensus. Unfortunately, the BJP government has disrupted it, and its ill-advised actions have unravelled the national consensus,” read the resolution.

On China, it said both countries share a complex and demanding relationship and maintained that the rapid rise of the neighbouring country “is and will” be a significant factor for India. The party called for engaging China, insisting India’s approach must not only be marked with pragmatism but also realism.

“These should be reaffirmed and continue to be the basis on which India should engage China. It should remain our endeavour to work for peaceful resolution of all outstanding issues,” it said. But the “nexus between China and Pakistan poses a challenge to regional balance and stability”, it said.

Stressing that its Pakistan policy was a disaster, the Congress said the government has made the strategy towards Islamabad as a “divisive domestic” issue. response,” it added. The resolution said the claims of effective and assertive policy towards Pakistan are “boastful” and have not yielded any positive results. “It is a matter of concern that there is a danger of that hyphenation being revived as a result of renewed international focus on Indo-Pakistan tensions,” it said.

THE CONGRESS PARTY CALLED FOR ENGAGING CHINA, INSISTING THAT INDIA’S APPROACH TO THE NEIGHBOUR MUST NOT ONLY BE MARKED WITH PRAGMATISM BUT ALSO REALISM