Congress, BJP spar over success of PM's visit

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government and the Congress sparred over the contents of the the Indo-US joint statement on Tuesday with the Congress criticising it as “disappointing and old hat” that lacked “new or big ideas” in the relationship between the two countries.

However, Union information and broadcasting minister M. Venkaiah Naidu hit back at the Opposition Congress and said it “deliberately refuses to see” the outcome of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US due to “sheer jealousy” and “guilt” of lost opportunities during the UPA’s regime.

Speaking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump’s joint statement, AICC spokesperson Manish Tewari stressed it emphasised more on “diversions” in the bilateral ties than “conversions”. “The joint statement between India and the US is disappointing to say the least. It was old hat. There was no big idea in the relationship,” Mr Tewari said.

He added that the Trump administration and India were not on the same page when it came to interpretation of Islamist terrorism.

“President Trump’s interpretation of Islamist terror is very different from the interpretation that we have of cross-border terrorism which is being sponsored by Pakistan,” he added.

In their joint statement, Mr Modi and Mr Trump on Tuesday struck a common note on terrorism, vowing to strengthen efforts to fight the scourge and eliminate safe havens for terrorists.

Meanwhile, the I&B minister pointed out that the “grand and warm welcome” extended to Mr Modi by the White House and the US President speaks for the rising importance of India in the global economic and geo-political order.

“Congress deliberately refuses to see and believe the significant outcomes of this visit of PM and his meeting with the new US President for the first time. This is borne out of sheer jealousy and guilt as the Prime Minister’s every foreign visit holds a mirror to the lost opportunities during the 10 years of UPA rule,” Mr Naidu said.

“Congress is particularly disappointed by the fact the US President acknowledged the accomplishments of India under Modi during the last  three years,” Mr Naidu said. He also pointed out that Mr Trump had particularly referred to the comprehensive battle against corruption launched during NDA rule. The minister said the main objective of the visit was to further strengthen Indo-US relations, besides sharing perspectives on a wide range of regional and global issues, including the menace of terrorism, trade and economic cooperation.

The PM’s visit was a “success” which was reflected in the media briefing by the two leaders, he said. Mr Naidu claimed that the growing status of Mr Modi as a global leader and rising status of India in the comity of nations “obviously is not digestible” to Congress given their “lacklustre foreign policy” during its 10-year rule.

He said the US administration has declared Syed Salahuddin of Hizbul Mujahideen as a “global terrorist”, reflecting India’s concerns in the matter. “If this is not a major outcome of PM’s visit to the US for the Congress party, this is a clear evidence of disorientation that this party is suffering from (due to) its growing irrelevance and mounting frustration,” Mr Naidu claimed.