"Pak Issued A Frustrated Statement After Our Malaysia Visit": Salman Khurshid

NDTV

2 days ago

New Delhi:
Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Thursday said his patriotism for India and his party exists in equal measure, days after he slammed his critics, including his colleagues, over his remarks perceived to favour the Centre during a diplomatic mission abroad.
"I want to send a message to those who don't understand what patriotism means. To me, patriotism to the country and to the party are the same," the former External Affairs Minister, who returned from his five-nation multi-party delegation visit, told NDTV.
His remarks came days after his praise for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre over its decision to scrap Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir stirred a controversy in his own party.
"The issue of domestic Indian politics did not spill over into our discussions abroad. We all spoke in one voice. I was in constant touch with the party high command throughout the visit," he said. "We did not let domestic narratives affect our mission. We were there as representatives of India."
Mr Khurshid and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor have been facing attacks from party leaders, including Udit Raj, for acting like a "super spokesperson of BJP" during their respective diplomatic missions abroad to brief stakeholders on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. On Monday, Mr Khurshid said it is "distressing" that people back home are calculating political allegiances and asked if it is "so difficult to be patriotic".
Mr Khurshid was a part of a delegation led by Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha that visited Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia.
The purpose and objective of the global visit were substantially achieved, Mr Khurshid said. "Pakistan issued a frustrated press release after our three-day visit to Malaysia," he said, referring to Islamabad's alleged attempts to derail the Indian delegation's visit to Malaysia, citing Islamic solidarity.
"While some questions were raised by Malaysia, given its strong membership in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), we received a firm letter of support from the Prime Minister of Malaysia. We saw no indication of any hesitation in backing India," he added.
According to sources, the Pakistani embassy had urged Malaysian officials to cancel the Indian delegation's programmes. It also raised the Kashmir issue, but this did not cut ice.
The former Union Minister said one cannot expect firm commitments from any country. "But you do get a general sense of the response, and the support we received was outstanding. I believe we will see a shift in sentiment within the OIC going forward," he said.
"Some people asked whether we were approaching a nuclear threshold, and we gave a clear answer: India does not want any nuclear confrontation," he added.
Mr Khurshid also praised Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee for making a pitch to revive tourism in Kashmir, from a global platform. Mr Banerjee was also a member of one of the seven multi-party delegations on the mission.
"Mr Banerjee suggested dedicating three specific days to focus on Jammu & Kashmir during the visit. That was a commendable initiative on his part to encourage investment and tourism in the region," the Congress leader said.