PM Modi’s China visit a ‘moment of some reckoning’, says Jairam Ramesh

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday sharply criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of foreign policy towards China and the domestic situation in Manipur, in a post on X coinciding with the Prime Minister’s two-day visit to Japan.

Ramesh described Modi as the “Frequently Flying (and more frequently lying) Prime Minister” and said the China visit represented “a moment of some reckoning for India.” He argued that India was being compelled to normalise relations with China largely on Beijing’s terms, taking advantage of the downturn in Indo-US ties.

Ramesh also recalled the Prime Minister’s controversial statement on 19 June 2020 that “Na koi hamari seema mein ghus aaya hai, na hi koi ghusa hua hai”, saying it had weakened India’s negotiating position.

The Rajya Sabha MP added that the ongoing visit to China was “the inevitable result of that notorious and cowardly clean chit.”

Turning to domestic affairs, Ramesh highlighted the plight of Manipur, where violence erupted in May 2023. “Even as the PM jets off abroad, the long-suffering people of Manipur are still awaiting his visit to heal the wounds,” he wrote.

He accused the Prime Minister of refusing to engage with the state’s political leaders, civil society organisations, and its citizens, adding that the situation stood as a “tragic testimony to the blundering of the Union Home Minister.”

Ramesh’s comments come as Modi holds summit talks in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, focusing on trade, technology partnerships, and regional security, underscoring India’s strategic engagement in the Indo-Pacific.