In the backdrop of China playing a spoiler in India's entry into NSG, Congress today dismissed as a "big zero" the sum total of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign visits and foreign policy initiatives.
"Never ever in the past almost three decades, China has taken such an absolutely hostile position to India whether on the question of membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) or even getting the Jaish-e-Mohd and Maulana Masood Azhar labeled as terrorist entity", party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters here.
Tearing apart claims of the government and the BJP that PM's just concluded tour to several countries including US as a big strategic and diplomatic success, he expressed concern that China "has never been so belligerent in the past 29 years".
"China is extremely crucial and has a sensitive relationship with India but has never been so belligerent in the past 29 years ever since late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi broke the ice with China in 1987", he said.
Reports from Vienna had it that with the US pushing its case, India's bid for membership of the 48-member grouping has received positive indications from most of the member countries but China was still playing the spoiler by persisting with its opposition.
He said here has not been a single new idea, a single big idea in the Indo-US relationship in the last two years since Modi became PM.
"The only one thread which the NDA-BJP Government and the Prime Minister have been taking forth is the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Energy Pact which was incubated and finally consummated during the UPA Government.
"This Prime Minister has suddenly woken up to the virtues of the Civil Nuclear Energy. If I recall correctly, on 12th Sept 2008, while addressing the BJP National Executive, he had stated that the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement is a sell-out. It compromises India's National security.
"So, therefore, between 2008 and 2016, there seems to be a sudden change of heart and what was national security threat in 2008 has now become the biggest swan song of both the Prime Minister and his Government.", he remarked.
He took a dig at BJP President Amit Shah for his reported remarks that the MTCR would help India become an arms exporter.
"Possibly the BJP needs to understand that the Missile Technology Control Regime is about controlling proliferation of missiles. It is not about making a country into a net arms exporter. So, this is the limited understanding which the BJP and its President unfortunately have about international affairs.", he said.
"If you look at the Prime Minister and his Government's foreign policy, in a comprehensive perspective over the past 2 years, India has neither gained diplomatically, neither strategically, neither economically and neither militarily". "The sum total of Prime Minister's foreign visits and foreign policy initiatives, is unfortunately a big Zero", Tewari said..
