Diplomacy is not Tamasha, says Congress; PM owes explanation, says Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: The Congress has termed the NDA government’s handling of the NSG meet in Seoul as "an embarrassment for India" and said it’s time the Prime Minister handled diplomacy with the deftness and seriousness that it requires. The party also demanded PM Modi to explain what went wrong and why his government was even ready "to put Pakistan on par with India" during its bid for NSG membership.

"The world saw the PM making a spectacle of himself and India in dealing with the NSG issue. Now, India faces an unnecessary embarrassment. It’s high time that he realizes that diplomacy requires gravitas, depth and seriousness. Modi needs to understand that diplomacy needs depth, not public tamasha," AICC spokesperson Anand Sharma told reporters on Friday.

He also questioned why "India was even ready’ to support Pakistan’s claim for the NSG membership. "We do not know why India showed its desperation and allowed the country to be equated with Pakistan on the issue of NSG membership."

Sharma also questioned the wisdom of such aggressive lobbying for NSG membership, given that there was no obstacle before India for nuclear trade with the group.

Another Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said the mishandling of Seoul summit was a huge disappointment for India, given that former PM Manmohan Singh had deftly dealt with the Indo-US civil nuclear deal and then ensured a huge victory in the form of getting the nuclear waiver for the country.