New Delhi [India], June 27 : Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury on Friday criticised External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar for his remarks on the Emergency and India's foreign policy, calling him "neither a politician nor a great minister."
"We are surrounded by enemies everywhere. He is neither a politician nor a great minister. He should stop talking like this and focus on his actual job of making sure that India has some allies and friends. It's a failed policy that we are facing..." Chowdhury said while speaking to ANI.
Her remarks came after Jaishankar criticised the Congress party during an event marking the 50th anniversary of the Emergency.
Addressing the inaugural session of a mock parliament organised by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), Jaishankar had said, "All this happened because of one family... There's a movie titled 'Kissa Kursi Ka', and these three words aptly tell the reason behind the imposition of the Emergency. When a family is considered above the nation, things like the Emergency take place."
He recalled that during the Emergency, the opposition side of the parliament was empty as leaders were jailed. He stated that during that time he was a 20-year-old student at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He further said that the biggest lesson from the Emergency was to never take one's freedom for granted.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also reacted strongly to Jaishankar's comments, urging the minister to focus on the "collapse of Indian diplomacy" rather than dwell on past political events.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also criticised him, saying that the Congress party has repeatedly expressed regret for it multiple times, to the extent that a bye-election was called by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, knowing well that she might be defeated.