‘Chindia, China Gurus': Jaishankar takes jibe at Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh in Rajya Sabha
'Today, sir, people are offering great wisdom on China. In fact, some people have said I am not well-versed on China,' Jaishankar said, responding to Opposition criticism. Follow Parliament live updates
'Sir, I only spent 41 years in the foreign service and have only been the longest-serving ambassador to China. But there are China Gurus now. One, sir, is an honourable member sitting across from me, whose affection for China is so great that he coined the term Chindia,' he added, drawing laughter from the Treasury benches.
Jaishankar's remarks were a veiled jibe at Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, who coined the term 'Chindia' in the early 2000s to promote the idea of India and China working together.
In a 2014 interview with China's state-run Global Times, Ramesh had said, 'Ten years ago, when I proposed the concept of Chindia, the whole idea was that India and China could cooperate and work together to face challenges ahead.'
'Chindia is not an outdated vision; it is actually what the governments of both countries are carrying forward,' Ramesh had said at the time, adding that India and China should not become 'victims to those people who see them as natural rivals.'
Jaishankar also indirectly referred to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's earlier remarks. Gandhi has repeatedly made critical comments about the Modi government's handling of the border standoff with China. At an event in London in 2023, he had said the foreign minister's understanding of China was 'superficial.'
'I had an interaction with the foreign minister… He just doesn't understand it,' Gandhi had said then, drawing sharp reactions from the BJP.
'The 'China Guru' says China and Pakistan have grown very close, and that's absolutely true. But why did they come closer? Because we left the land of PoK between them,' Jairam Ramesh said in a veiled attack on Rahul Gandhi.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
28 minutes ago
- India.com
‘Unavoidable Reasons': Rahul Gandhi And Tejashwi Yadavs Joint Bihar Rally Postponed
New Delhi: The much-anticipated 'Vote Adhikar Yatra' of Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav, originally scheduled to begin on August 10 in Bihar, has been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) officially announced the postponement through a letter (No. 168, dated August 4, 2025) issued by its state office, citing "unavoidable reasons" behind the decision. The death of a former Chief Minister of Jharkhand is believed to be the primary reason behind the deferment, sources said. The party has urged supporters and officials to consider the previous schedule cancelled until a new date is announced. The revised schedule of the yatra will be communicated in due course. As per the earlier plan, the first phase of the yatra was to commence from Sasaram in Rohtas district on August 10 and culminate in Narpatganj in Araria district on August 19, covering several districts across Bihar. Jointly organised by Congress and RJD, the yatra was being projected as a people's movement for voter rights and a direct protest against the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the Election Commission. The two opposition parties also planned to use this platform to attack both the Modi government at the Centre and the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on various election-related issues. Leaders from both parties had termed the yatra as the beginning of their electoral campaign for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. It was designed not only to voice opposition to recent electoral roll deletions under SIR but also to galvanise support and re-energise the Mahagathbandhan cadre ahead of the polls. Party insiders said the announcement of the yatra had already created a buzz within the alliance, with grassroots workers and ticket aspirants gearing up to participate in large numbers. For many local leaders, it was a crucial opportunity to showcase strength and influence in front of top leadership Now, with the program postponed, political attention will shift to the rescheduled dates, which are expected to be strategically aligned with future election planning and regional developments.
The Hindu
28 minutes ago
- The Hindu
A crisis of trust: On the Election Commission of India
The credibility of an electoral system, or democracy in general, is dependent solely on it being seen as fair by all, particularly so by the loser. This is comparable to a judicial dispute or a sporting event on this count. If the losers think they lost only because the process was rigged against them, a crisis of trust develops. The serious charges being raised against the Election Commission of India (ECI) by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has to be seen in this context. He says that he has plans to disclose more information regarding discrepancies in the 2024 general election. One must wait for the details of those allegations before making any comments on their merits. The ECI has come under attack by politicians earlier too. Narendra Modi, when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, had repeatedly questioned the impartiality of the ECI. Many of these charges against the ECI are rhetorical attempts by political parties or leaders to animate supporters. In Bihar, the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, has alleged his name did not exist on the draft electoral roll which is being revised by the ECI. As it turns out the Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number that he thought was his is different from the one in the ECI records, raising a new controversy. Politicians should be raising questions about the electoral process only when there are strong grounds for doing so. Trust in the electoral system is foundational to representative democracy. That said, the ECI's recent statements and actions, far from buttressing public trust and enhancing transparency in the process, raise more questions. Its efficiency and its neutrality are on test in the preparation of rolls, scheduling of elections, enforcement of the code of conduct, counting process, and the redress of complaints. The ECI stands charged on each of these counts. Other than protesting that the electronic voting machines (EVM) are beyond tampering, and that political parties should raise objections regarding rolls at the appropriate time, the ECI has refused to come clean on multiple issues. It has not been transparent about the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine which is one of the three parts that make an Electronic Voting Machine. Unlike the other two parts — the Ballot Unit and the Control Unit — the VVPAT has software that is centrally installed and it is connected to the control unit. The random tallying of the VVPAT with the electronically cast votes is now an extremely arbitrary process. All political parties do not have the equal capacity to monitor the various stages of the electoral process. At any rate, the election process is not a matter of negotiation between parties and the ECI. Political parties have a role to play, but the real question is to ensure that the citizenry at large is reassured of the integrity of the electoral process. The ECI needs to correct its course to ensure that.
News18
38 minutes ago
- News18
Russia ends moratorium on intermediate-range missile deployment
Last Updated: Moscow, Aug 4 (PTI) Russia on Monday announced that it was withdrawing from its self-imposed moratorium on the deployment of intermediate-range missiles. The move comes after US President Donald Trump ordered the repositioning of two American nuclear submarines closer to Russian shores, escalating tensions between the two Cold War-era rivals. 'Russia does not consider itself anymore bound by self-restrictions on deploying intermediate- and shorter-range missiles (INF) as conditions to preserve this moratorium have disappeared," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed between the USSR and the US in 1987, did not allow the deployment of missile launchers, ground-launched ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 km. The US withdrew from the agreement in 2019. In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said its repeated warnings on the matter have been ignored and the situation is moving toward the actual deployment of US-made intermediate- and shorter-range ground-based missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The Foreign Office in Moscow said that actions by the West in the sphere of proliferating such missiles create a 'direct threat" to Russian security, requiring certain measures on Moscow's part. On Friday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social post that he had ordered the redeployment of US submarines 'to appropriate regions" allegedly over 'extremely provocative statements" by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is also the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council. PTI VS GRS GRS GRS view comments First Published: August 05, 2025, 00:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
