My job is to be informed on critical issues, Rahul Gandhi on meeting with Chinese envoy

NEW DELHI: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has said that it was his “job to be informed on critical issues,” after certain quarters sought to raise a controversy about his meeting with the Chinese envoy to India last Saturday.

Gandhi elaborated that he not only met the Chinese ambassador but also the Bhutanese envoy and former National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon. As attempts were made to question the rationale of Gandhi meeting the Chinese envoy amid Sino-Indo tension, Gandhi said if that was a concern for the government, it should explain why three Union ministers were “availing Chinese hospitality” around the same time.

“It is my job to be informed on critical issues. I met the Chinese ambassador, ex-NSA, Congress leaders from NE & the Bhutanese ambassador. If the government is so concerned about me meeting an ambassador, it should explain why 3 ministers are availing Chinese hospitality while the border issue is on,” Gandhi tweeted on Monday.

Taking a potshot at the prime minister he added, “I am not the guy sitting on the swing while a thousand Chinese troops had physically entered India,” and attached a photo of PM Narendra Modi and Chinese president XI Jingping on a swing during the latter’s visit to India in September 2014, along with a newspaper report with the headline, “nearly 1000 Chinese soldiers enter India."

Those familiar with diplomatic engagements said it was neither unusual nor uncommon for ambassadors and diplomats to engage with opposition leaders. It is part of diplomatic practice the world over for diplomats to discuss with Opposition leaders crucial issues from economic to strategic — GST to China — in India’s case.

Diplomats also engage with leaders of the ruling party, apart. It is also a practice across the globe for visiting leaders to meet Opposition leaders. During his recent visit to Israel, Modi had met local opposition leaders like he met Justin Trudeau in Canada in 2015, before he became the PM. The meeting was raked up on Monday after the Chinese ambassador in a press release said he had met Rahul Gandhi.