Cong calls it disappointing meet, Naidu says Opposition is jealous

The Congress dubbed on Tuesday PM Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump as “disappointing” but I&B minister Venkaiah Naidu shot back, quipping that the opposition party was jealous of its own “lost opportunities”.

Congress spokesperson and former Union minister Manish Tewari on Tuesday maintained that during the Modi-Trump meeting there was “no mention of the H-1B visa”, a major issue for Indian IT companies .

He also pointed out “divergence” on the issue of terror. “Trump named North Korea in his remarks, but he refrained from mentioning Pakistan”, he told a news agency.

Ever since Modi came to power in 2014, his government’s diplomatic initiatives had come under scrutiny, especially his policies vis-a-vis Pakistan.

“Nothing has come out of the visit. The joint statement is disappointing,” Tewari said. Adding that President Trump only “appreciated” the order of an Indian airline to buy 100 airplanes from Boeing which would help in creating jobs in the United States.

The Congress, which had pushed the boundaries of bilateral ties and signed the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement during the UPA-era, doubted if the sophisticated guardian drones, which New Delhi is expected to buy from the United States, has not materialised.

Countering Congress’ claim, Naidu slammed the UPA-era foreign policy as “lacklustre” and said, “The growing status of the Prime Minister as a global leader and the rising status of India is not digestable to Congress given their lackluster foreign policy.”

Dismissing Congress’ charge, the Union minister said: “This is borne out of sheer jealousy and guilt as Prime Minister’s every foreign visit holds mirror to the lost opportunities during the ten years of UPA rule,”.

Naidu claimed that India was now speaking to its strengths in various international forums and was pursuing a “dynamic, energetic and purposeful foreign policy”.