"I get a lot of noises from the Western press. If they criticize our democracy, it's not because they lack information, it is because they think they are also political players in our election...," External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said at the forum for Nationalist Thinkers- Hyderabad.
He said, "I read an article today where some Western media said, it is so hot in India, why are they holding elections at this time? I read that article and I wanted to say, in that heat my lowest turnout is higher than your highest turnout in the best record... These are the games that are being played with us...".
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| Jaishankar with Russian counterpart |
"These are politics. These are our domestic politics which is going global, global politics which feels they must now intrude in India... So they actually think they are part of our electorate," he said adding, "It's time today that we disabuse them. And the best way that we do that is by confidence...".
Speaking on 'Foreign Policy - The India Way: From Diffidence To Confidence', Dr Jaishankar says, "If you ask me, what is the single test with which I view a situation, a problem, a decision. For me, it begins with national interest and it ends with national interest. It can be a very difficult situation. Sometimes, it can put you into an argumentative position with other countries. But for me, if I have to make a decision, what is the basis?
"I think today our country is very clear about it, the welfare of our people, and the interest of our society come first. The security of our country comes first and foremost...".
Jaishankar says, "Now, there are other examples I can give you of confidence. One is how to defend your borders more strongly. Because we have challenges on our border. And the key to defending our borders is not to just posture in public.
"It requires a lot of homework. It requires building the infrastructure. It requires supporting the military, requires creating systems which will respond whenever the border is under threat. Another example is of countering terrorism... In the defensive era, we accepted terrorism...
"The National Security Advisor of the previous UPA government wrote we sat, we debated, we considered all the options. Then we decided to do nothing...
And the justification was we felt the cost of attacking Pakistan was more than the cost of not attacking Pakistan...".
Jaishankar says, "...This is also a globalized world. We have so many Indians (outside India)... We have to prepare for those challenges as well. The fact is, today there are almost two crore Indians, Indian nationals, and Indian passport holders who live and work outside India."
"About a crore and a half are citizens of other countries with whom we have linkages. Look at the responsibility that it gives to us... We have seen it in conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Israel...
'Modi Ki guarantee' doesn't stop at the borders of India. 'Modi ki guarantee' is global...""
He also says, "How much interest there is in being connected to India that there is. During our G-20 presidency, many countries, but particularly this was an initiative called IMEC through Saudi Arabia. They wanted to connect India to Europe.
"Russia and Iran also want a connectivity passage to Europe. In the east, countries like Vietnam, and Cambodia, wanted a passage through Myanmar to India. There is a lot of interest today in somehow accessing India, to work with India... The stature which the prime minister personally commands...
When people speak about what happened with the G20, when we got our G20 chair presidency, it was on the 1 December 2022. Most of the world said we were going to have a really difficult time managing this."
When the G 20 summit met, within the first day, we were able to forge a consensus... When the G 20 met, there was a lot of respect in the rest of the world for the prime minister personally and for Modi's Bharat...".
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