Congress questions Marco Rubio’s ‘announcements’ on India’s foreign policy

The Congress on Friday took a swipe at the Centre over what it described as repeated instances of US secretary of state Marco Rubio making announcements related to India’s foreign policy before New Delhi itself.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh questioned whether the Narendra Modi government was allowing Washington to shape the narrative on sensitive diplomatic and strategic matters.

In a post on X, Ramesh pointed to Rubio’s recent remarks in Miami, where the US official announced that the Venezuelan president would visit India next week and that he himself would travel to India for the Quad meeting.

“At 5.37 pm on 10 May 2025, the US secretary of state Marco Rubio was the first to announce the halt to Operation Sindoor,” Ramesh said, referring to the India-Pakistan military escalation following the Pahalgam terror attack.

“Yesterday, Mr Rubio was again the very first to announce that the President of Venezuela would be visiting India next week. This was even before India and Venezuela had even hinted or confirmed the news,” he added.

Ramesh said the Venezuelan leader was expected to attend the launch of the International Big Cat Alliance summit in New Delhi. However, the summit has reportedly been postponed due to the Ebola outbreak in parts of Africa.

“What else does the US secretary of state have in store for Indian foreign policy?” the Congress leader asked in a pointed remark aimed at the Centre.

The Congress has repeatedly criticised the government over Rubio’s statements on Operation Sindoor, alleging that Washington appeared to announce key developments linked to India’s military and diplomatic actions before Indian authorities did.

With PTI inputs