In an exclusive interview with NewsX Editor-In-Chief Rishabh Gulati, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar spoke about the ideological battle between the BJP and the Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Asking the people to take a look at the Congress Manifesto, the External Affairs Minister said, “They’re trying to have it both ways. They won’t refer to CAA and will not talk about Article 370. But they know that national sentiment is in favour of the 2019 move.”
Dr. Jaishankar stressed that on one hand Prime Minister Modi has delivered his promises, on the other the Congress wants to take India back 50 years. He said, “They think what happened in the pre-reform era wasn’t wrong. In fact, they feel they should do it again. It’s a view on your earnings, your savings, your property. They think the state will become arbiters of who will have what.”
#JaishankarOnNewsX | ‘The ground support for the BJP & PM Modi is strong’ External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on the 2024 General Election effort and the pulse of the voters in India.
Catch the exclusive conversation on #HotMicOnNewsX, only on NewsX!@DrSJaishankar… pic.twitter.com/EdCdsvhqdp
— NewsX World (@NewsX) May 1, 2024
Further, hitting out at the Congress party’s vow to conduct a wealth survey in the country, he has highlighted that such an endeavour is not to place the government under scrutiny but to put the people of the country under lens. Dr. Jaishankar emphasised, “They’re saying they believe in redistribution, in taxing. This is license raj, this is tax raj, this is permit raj, this is family raj. Their idea of India is an electoral monarchy.”
#JaishankarOnNewsX | What Jaishankar Said On Cong Ideology | External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar calls out the Congress for ‘bringing the country to ruin in 1991’. He attacks the Congress for proposing ‘policies like the inheritance tax, wealth distribution survey and caste… pic.twitter.com/L7CyevCMqw
— NewsX World (@NewsX) May 1, 2024
Watch the full interview on NewsX Facebook, Youtube and X.
The External Affairs Minister has also taken the critics of the BJP, who peddle a ‘Hindu-nationalist’ narrative, head-on. With regard to this, Dr. Jaishankar maintains, “Our biggest foreign policy shift is our Gulf relationships. If the narrative is true, why is the Gulf embracing us?”
He also opined, “After Independence, there was a conscious attempt to create a minority vote bank. I don’t think the Gulf buys it. They see India taking pride in its history and traditions.”
Also Read : NewsX Exclusive: How Jaishankar Roasted Rahul Gandhi
