Should talk to Opposition in country instead of Trump: Sanjay Raut jibes at PM Modi

New Delhi: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday sharply criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's approach to foreign policy engagement, suggesting that the Prime Minister should focus more on domestic political consultation rather than international conversations.

Commenting on the recent phone call between PM Modi and the US President, the UBT MP said that instead of engaging with Donald Trump on global issues like the Middle East crisis, Modi should be speaking to the Opposition in India, claiming it would yield better results. He also remarked that Trump appeared to be acting as though he were "Modi's boss."

"Instead of talking to Trump, Modi should talk to the Opposition in this country; he will get better suggestions from them. Trump is like Modi's boss," said Sanjay Raut.


Raut questioned India's role in ongoing global conflicts and referred to Pakistan's diplomatic positioning, saying it had shown willingness to compromise in talks with Trump and was being appreciated for it.

"In the global conflicts happening across the world, what is India's role? A country like Pakistan has taken a position today--it tells Trump that it is ready for compromise, and Trump welcomes and appreciates it. This means Trump is making a fool of Modi," he added.

Earlier today an all-party meeting was convened by the government on the West Asia crisis.

The meeting, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, was attended by several senior opposition leaders.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Puri and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri were also present at the meeting.

Congress leaders Mukul Wasnik and Tariq Anwar, Samajwadi Party leaders Dharmendra Yadav, and Javed Ali, CPI(M)'s John Brittas, LJP's Arun Bharti, DMK leader P Wilson and AAP's Sanjay Singh were present too.

JD-U was by Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh and the party's working president Sanjay Jha.

No leader from the Trinamool Congress is present at the meeting. TMC MP Saugata Roy said the entire electoral fight is ongoing with the BJP. he asked, "What meeting will we hold with them?"