A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic go to to Ukraine, Chief of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi mocked him for his ‘hug diplomacy’, saying “kabhi Ukraine bhagenge kabhi Russia”. The Congress MP made these remarks throughout his tackle on the ‘Samvidhan Samman Sammelan’, held in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on Saturday. This comes after Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar defended PM Modi embracing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin throughout his visits to their nations, citing “cultural hole”.
“Have you ever ever seen any labourer or employee’s interview on the web. Plumbers, cobblers, or potters who run the nation are by no means noticed in media. However when Modiji hugs somebody media says superpower ban gya tremendous energy ban gya…Kabhi vo Ukraine bhaagenge kabhi Russia kabhi gale lagenge [Sometimes he goes to Ukraine then he goes to Russia then he hugs someone and media says country has become superpower]…how is it attainable?…that’s the reason such discussions are imporant to know and perceive what the 90 per cent of the persons are pondering and what the precise points are,” he mentioned.
मीडिया देश के 90% लोगों के मुद्दे नहीं उठाता। pic.twitter.com/nl8KyDnPv0
— Congress (@INCIndia) August 24, 2024
Throughout his go to to Kyiv, PM Modi had embraced Zelenskyy following a handshake that symbolised India’s solidarity with the war-stricken nation. This gesture by the PM happened simply six weeks after he had embraced Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, throughout his go to to Moscow.
Following this, S Jaishankar was requested concerning the significance of PM Modi embracing each the leaders, who’re currenlty at battle. Responding to this, Jaishankar defined: “In our a part of the world, when individuals meet individuals, they’re given to embracing one another, it is probably not a part of your tradition however I can guarantee you it’s a part of ours. Actually, at the moment, I believe, I noticed, Prime Minister (Modi) additionally embrace President Zelenskyy.”
“And I’ve seen him do it with quite a few different leaders in quite a few different locations. So, I believe, we have now a slight … cultural hole right here by way of what these courtesies imply,” he added.