External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claim that he went to the United States to secure an invitation for the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
Jaishankar dubbed the allegation as “falsehood” and “lies” and said the visit was intended to meet officials of the outgoing and incoming officials. He said that such “lies” hurt India’s image abroad even though they are meant for domestic politics.
“I went to meet the Secretary of State and NSA of the Biden Administration. Also to chair a gathering of our Consuls General. During my stay, the incoming NSA-designate met with me. At no stage was an invitation in respect of the PM discussed. It is common knowledge that our PM does not attend such events. In fact, India is generally represented by Special Envoys,” said Jaishankar in a post on X.
Earlier in the day,
Rahul, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, said that Jaishankar visited the United States in December to secure an invitation. While criticising the Narendra Modi government’s economic policy, he said that had India been successful, Trump would have extended the invitation without any visit.
“When we talk to the United States, we would not send our foreign minister to invite our Prime Minister to his coronation…Because if we had a production system and if we were working on these technologies, the American President would come here and invite the Prime Minister,” said Rahul.
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