Rahul, Jaishankar spar at panel meet

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had an animated debate on Indian foreign policy against the backdrop of the border standoff with China during a routine meeting of a parliamentary consultative committee on Saturday, according to people familiar with the matter.

As the minister concluded an hour-long presentation, the Congress leader said it appeared to be a “laundry list” rather than a concerted strategy to deal with the Chinese threat — a view echoed by his party colleague Shashi Tharoor, who held the charge of junior foreign minister during the UPA era. Jaishankar responded by saying a simplistic approach could not be adopted in a multipolar