India earned great respect by remaining neutral between global powers, says Kharge

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is harming India’s global standing through his foreign policy decisions.

Mr. Kharge was speaking after inaugurating completed development works and laying foundation stone for new projects together worth ₹1,069 crore at Chittapur in Kalaburagi district.

Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge, Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil and Small Scale Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Sharanabasappa Darshanapur, among other leaders, were present.

Referring to India’s earlier foreign policy approach, Mr. Kharge said that when Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister, India earned great respect internationally by leading several countries in the Non-Aligned Movement and maintaining neutrality in conflicts between global powers.

“By remaining neutral between the superpowers, India earned great honour and respect. The Non-Aligned Movement played a crucial role in maintaining global peace and security. Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is aligning India with the United States and Israel and helping disturb global peace and security,” he claimed.

Oil procurement

Launching a sharp attack on the Centre over India’s crude oil procurement policy, Mr. Kharge said that India earlier purchased crude oil from various countries, including Iran, Russia and Venezuela, depending on where it was cheaper.

“Now, Mr. Trump is deciding from where India should purchase oil for its requirements. He has permitted India to buy oil from Russia only for 30 days. After that period, he will again decide whether India should continue to purchase oil from Russia or buy it from elsewhere as he wishes. That is how Mr. Modi is serving like a puppet of the United States,” Mr. Kharge said.

Questioning the Prime Minister’s silence on the issue, he said that Mr. Modi, who speaks on a wide range of subjects in his Maan Ki Baat broadcasts, has not spoken about such developments.

Drawing attention to tariffs imposed by the United States on Indian agricultural items, Mr. Kharge said that the Centre has failed to protect the interests of Indian farmers.

“Mr. Modi repeatedly says Mr. Trump is his best friend and that they speak frequently during morning tea. But Mr. Trump is imposing heavy duties on Indian agricultural items entering the United States while ensuring duty-free entry for American farm products to India. Mr. Modi is allowing it even though it goes against the interests of Indian farmers. Mr. Modi never talks about it in his Maan Ki Baat,” he said.

He further said that Mr. Trump is exerting pressure on Mr. Modi by threatening to reveal information contained in what he referred to as the Epstein files.

Article 371(J)

Turning his criticism towards the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr. Kharge said that the party has little agenda other than attacking Congress leaders such as Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar as well as past leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

He recalled the efforts involved in securing special Constitutional status for the Kalyana Karnataka region through Article 371(J).

“Only I know the hardship I had to undergo to secure Article 371(J) for Kalyana Karnataka. A two-thirds majority was required in Parliament for the Constitutional amendment. The Congress had only 208 members then. I had to mobilise support from around 130 members from other parties to get the amendment passed. The BJP had rejected the proposal at that time and the then Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani had opposed it. What they said was impossible, we implemented,” Mr. Kharge said.

He said that the Constitutional provision has benefited students and youth of the region by enabling them to secure opportunities in education and employment apart from special grants for infrastructure development.