Jaishankar get back at Rahul previous comment, says ‘You can have an opinion about a country, but you cannot undermine national morale’

This comes days after Rahul’s comment in London

Days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that external affairs minister S Jaishankar "does not understand" the threat that China poses to India, the latter hit back saying it was troubling as a citizen of India to see "somebody drooling over China". "When Panda huggers try to be China hawks... it doesn't fly," Jaishankar said at the India Today Conclave in New Delhi.

Gandhi earlier this month told members of the Indian Journalists' Association in London that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim that "nobody has entered Indian territory" is an invitation for China to resume its aggression along the Line of Actual Control. When asked how India should respond to military threats, Gandhi stated that India should respond militarily based on the nature of the threat. He went on to say that Jaishankar and the government were unaware of the actual Chinese threat, and that the prime minister's statement demonstrated this.

In response to Gandhi's remarks, Jaishankar stated, "I am troubled as an Indian citizen when I see somebody drooling over China and dismissive of India." He was responding to a question about Gandhi's recent speech in the United Kingdom.

Further hitting out at the former Congress president, Jaishankar rubbished Gandhi's allegations of India "being scared of China". "Rahul Gandhi speaks admiringly of China and describes the country as 'harmony,' he says China is the greatest manufacturer and 'Make in India' will not work," the EAM stated. 

"You can have an opinion about a country, but you cannot undermine national morale," the minister said