BJP Modi-Powell meeting as US' 'internal corrective"

Terming Ambassador Nancy Powell's meeting with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi an "internal corrective" of the United States, BJP today attacked the government for the "failure" of its foreign policy that led to some countries deciding not to deal with him.
The opposition party also charged External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid with having failed to protect the dignity of an elected representative in India and is now "distressed" after today's meeting between Modi and Powell.
On Indo-US ties, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said all sides should realise that restraint and statesmanship will help overcome transient problems and "aberrations cannot be exaggerated to disturb the balance in the relationship".

"The decision by the US administration to resume contact with the Gujarat Chief Minister appears to be based on their suo moto assessment of the domestic situation in India. I regard it as an internal corrective of the US administration," Jaitley said in an article.
The BJP leader said the earlier decision not to keep contact with an elected representative in India did not appear to be based on any cogent evidence or court verdicts. "It was based on excessive propaganda in the media and elsewhere created by certain NGOs," he noted.
Terming the earlier decision of some countries not to deal with Modi as a "failure" of India's foreign policy, he said it was for the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) to react to it and it "unquestionably" failed to do so.

On Khurshid's reaction to today's meeting between Modi and Powell, Jaitley said the External Affairs Minister, who should have protected the dignity of an elected representative in India, appears "distressed" after the meeting.
"The reaction of the External Affairs Minister Mr Salman Khurshid to this meeting is self-evident," he said, adding "Congress is today a demoralized lot and the writing on the wall is clear now as it was heading for a complete "rout".
"The arrogance of its leaders still remains. That arrogance is evident even in the reactions in the past few hours," he said.