PM's 'cavalier' conduct of foreign policy hurting India's national interests: Cong

The Congress today hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "cavalier" conduct of foreign policy at the Commonwealth Summit and bilateral meeting with British counterpart Theresa May, saying it is "hurting" India's national interests.

Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma said the prime minister's "boastful" claims on surgical strike neutralising cross-border terror is "embarrassing" as India continues to be exposed to multiple terrorist strikes from across the border, losing brace officers and soldiers.

"Prime Minister Modi's cavalier conduct of foreign policy at the Commonwealth Summit in London and the bilateral meeting with the British prime minister is hurting India's national interests.

"He needs a firm reminder that India engages with its strategic partner countries with maturity and gravitas and does not take sides or make an uninformed statement on issues of disputes between two strategic partner countries," he said in a statement.

Hitting out at the government's policy towards Pakistan, Sharma said it has been a "disaster" and it was "unbecoming" of a prime minister to speak out the way he did.

"The BJP government's Pakistan policy is a disaster. It is both unfortunate and unbecoming of him to say that India's prime minister speaks to Pakistan in its own language," he said.

Sharma said Pakistan is home to a terror syndicate that targets India and its people.

India, therefore, has the moral high ground and every right to take firm action to confront and defeat terrorism, he said, adding that the entire nation stands united behind the armed forces in fighting terrorism.

Modi told his British counterpart yesterday that there would be no dilution in the importance of the UK to India after it leaves the EU, as the two leaders agreed to infuse new energy into bilateral ties post-Brexit.

Later at an interaction with the Indian diaspora, the prime minister talked about surgical strikes on Pakistan to demolish terror training camps and warned Pakistan that India will not tolerate those who like to export terror and will respond to them "in the language they understand".

The prime minister, during the 'Bharat Ki Baat, Sabke Saath' programme at the iconic Central Hall Westminster, said when "someone has put a terror export factory in place and makes attempts to attack us from the back, Modi knows how to answer in the same language".