BJP hails Modi for 'historic' foreign tour, opposition criticises

Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's five-nation tour as "historic", the BJP leaders on Thursday hailed him, while the CPI-M accused the Prime Minister of making India a "junior partner" of the US' global strategic design. The Congress too criticised Modi for not being grateful towards former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his contributions to making of the Indo-US nuclear deal.

BJP president Amit Shah described Modi's five-nation tour as "unprecedented strategic and diplomatic success", saying what the country could not achieve in decades, the BJP-led government achieved in two years.

"Modi's historic address to the US Congress has brought honour for crores of Indians and his five-nation tour has achieved unprecedented strategic and diplomatic success. A prosperous and strong India is marking its presence on the global stage in the leadership of Modi ji," Shah said in a statement.

Shah said that it was a success of the BJP government's aggressive diplomacy that India is poised to become member of the multi-lateral export control regime -- the 34-member Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

"After joining this group, India, for the first time would be able to export weapons. This is the result of diplomatic success of the Modi government that the country has achieved the feet in two years, what we could not achieve in decades," he said.

Commenting on the Indo-US Joint Statement issued during Modi's visit to the US, the Communist Party of India-Marxist said it amounted to abandoning New Delhi's independent position on foreign policy.

"The 50-paragraph Joint Statement ... is a declaration that cements India's role as a strategic junior partner of US global strategic designs," it said in a statement.

"The agreement covers almost the entire scope of bilateral relations as well as a global partnership, declaring that India has abandoned its established independent foreign policy and has firmly tied itself to the apron strings of US global strategic designs."

It said the agreement commits India to provide logistic facilities such as re-fuelling of the US Air Force on its adventures of military intervention in any part of the world.

Criticising Modi, the Congress said the prime minister spoke without keeping in mind the facts and the background.

"India entered into the Indo-US nuclear deal under the leadership of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He was grateful towards Atal Bihari Vajpayee by remembering him, but he forgot to acknowledge the contributions of Manmohan Singh," Congress spokesperson P. C. Chacko told IANS.

"If he was conscious of the history, then he should have remembered Manmohan Singh, who was the architect of the Indo-US nuclear deal. They got this advantage because of the UPA government. But Modi was ungrateful towards him," he added.

--IANS

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