Hosting Foreign Leaders Outside Delhi Is Not New, Says Jaishankar
Amid opposition criticism of his Mumbai meeting with US Foreign Minister Marco Rubio, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Thursday that holding talks outside Delhi is a practice India has followed for years.
At the NDTV World Summit, Jaishankar said he found the criticism puzzling. 'Why would anyone object to Mumbai? It is a fantastic city, the financial capital of India and the hub of Bollywood. Perhaps Mumbai is not liked by them. I really do not know what their problem is,' he said.
The comments came after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi last week called the Mumbai meeting a case of being 'summoned,' a remark that drew sharp reactions from the government.
Jaishankar pointed to past instances to make his case. He recalled that Indira Gandhi had gone to Shimla to meet Bhutto and asked whether she was summoned for it. He also cited Salman Khurshid's visit to Jaipur to meet the Pakistani Prime Minister and questioned whether he too had been summoned.
He called for a mature debate, noting that all participants in the discussion were sensible people.
Jaishankar had hosted his UAE and US counterparts in Mumbai on October 19 and 20. He was also the chief guest at the celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence held during the same period.
Last week, the Ministry of External Affairs had also rejected criticism of Mumbai being selected for Jaishankar's bilateral meetings. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said foreign leaders had been hosted outside Delhi over the past decade.
Jaiswal listed several examples: Prime Minister Modi hosted the Spanish Prime Minister in Vadodara, the German Chancellor was welcomed in Ahmedabad, and the Mauritian Prime Minister was hosted in Varanasi. He added that the SCO Foreign Ministers' meeting was held in Goa, the Botswana Foreign Minister was hosted in Kevadia, and the Heart of Asia Conference was organised in Amritsar.
The ministry maintained that hosting foreign visitors outside Delhi is a well-established diplomatic tradition and not a new trend.