Unbothered by the Ministry of External Affairs’ condemnation of his insulting remarks regarding PM Modi’s recent 5-nation visit, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann continues to poke fun at PM Modi’s foreign trips.
The comedian-turned-politician brought up PM Modi’s 2015 stopover in Pakistan to meet the then Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif, and said that he goes to countries uninvited. “It seems that when the PM is flying in his plane, he looks down and asks, ‘Which country is that?’ When told it’s so-and-so, he says, ‘No worries, we will reach an hour late where we are going; let’s land here now.’ He decides to land just anywhere. That’s how he landed in Pakistan too,” Mann said in the Punjab state assembly on Friday (11th July). “The PM goes to countries at times without even an invitation. He landed in Pakistan to eat Biryani. We can’t go to Pakistan, but the PM can go,” he added.
Justifying his distasteful comments, the Punjab CM asked if he did not have the right to question the government’s foreign policy. “Don’t we have the right to ask the PM what foreign policy is? Who has supported us? Then why are you moving around?” Mann said on Thursday (10th July).
Further ridiculing PM Modi, Mann said that the government publicised that PM Modi stopped the war between the two nations, but he was not able to resolve the issues between Punjab and Haryana. “Ads coming that Modi has stopped a war between two nations. Then why can’t the PM resolve issues between Punjab and Haryana?” Mann said. After the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) condemned the remarks of Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann poking fun at PM Modi’s recent 5-nation visit, Mann on Thursday (10th July) asked if he could not question the government’s foreign policy.
“Don’t we have the right to ask the PM what foreign policy is? Who has supported us? Then why are you moving around?” Mann said. The AAP leader had earlier alleged that PM Modi frequently visits countries without any diplomatic reasons or outcomes. “PM is going to nations that we don’t even know the names. Taking honours from such small nations. The same number of people gather here while a JCB is at work here,” he said.
No visit was uninvited
Mann’s claim that PM Modi reached countries uninvited is completely false and baseless. One of the visits during the recent 5-nation tour was to Brazil to attend the BRICS summit. As a founding member of the bloc, it is customary for the PM to attend the summit every year. He went to Ghana, the first stop in the 5-nation visit, on the invitation of President John Dramani Mahama.
No head of government or country visits another country ‘uninvited’. Such state visits are preceded by extensive preparations, and multiple rounds of meetings of officials. Before PM visits a country, officials, sometimes even foreign ministers, visit those countries for preparatory work. The groundwork for agreements and MoUs signed during the state visits are prepared in such preliminary meetings.
For the AAP leader, visit to countries like Ghana, Namibia and Trinidad & Tobago may look like insignificant, but close relation with every country is important for India. Some of these countries, especially the African nations, are rich in natural resources, important for India’s emerging industries like semiconductors and EVs. Similarly, Brazil and Argentina are major economies and important members of the global south.
The MEA harshly criticised Mann
The AAP leader had earlier alleged that PM Modi frequently visits countries without any diplomatic reasons or outcomes. “PM is going to nations that we don’t even know the names. Taking honours from such small nations. The same number of people gather here while a JCB is on work here,” he said.
Mann undermined PM Modi’s visits to the five nations of Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia by making fun of the small size of their populations. “PM has gone somewhere. I think it is Ghana. He is going to be back and he is welcome. God knows which countries he keeps visiting, ‘Magnesia’, ‘Galveaisa’, ‘Tarvesia’. He does not stay in a country with 140 crore people. He is visiting countries where the population is 10,000 and he is getting the ‘highest awards’ there. Here, 10,000 people gather to watch a JCB… What has he gotten himself into!…,” he said.
The Chief Minister’s remarks were harshly criticised by the MEA, which described them as “irresponsible and regrettable”. “We have seen some comments made by a high state authority about India’s relations with friendly countries from the Global South. These remarks are irresponsible and regrettable and do not behove the state authority,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said without naming Mann.
Prime Minister Modi’s 5-nation visit ended on 9th July. During his trip, PM Modi’s was conferred with the highest civilian honours of Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and Namibia. His strategic visit to the countries was aimed at building bilateral partnerships and countering the influence of China’s aggressive policies. These visits were significant for strengthening India’s position as a responsible global power as all these countries expressed interest in building long-term partnerships with India.
