Defending the abrogation of Article 370, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday said that India was being kept off balance internationally for a long time through the provision, which prompted the action and now, the world understands the logic behind it.
"The whole world used Article 370 against India to keep us off balance, so we remedied it at home. We spent a lot of time to make the world understand why we did it (abrogation of Article 370). Now, people say it is not a live issue anymore," he said in a press conference, while responding to a question on how the government handled the issue on the diplomatic front.
He further added that while doing so, the government also fought lots of false narratives which emanated from within the country.
Soon after coming to power in 2019 for the second time, the NDA government abrogated Article 370 on August 5 that year and turned Jammu and Kashmir into a union territory.
Besides, Ladakh was also turned into a separate union territory.
'Manipur situation not to impact India's Act East Policy': Jaishankar
Ethnic conflicts in Manipur are an internal issue of the country and will have no impact on India's "Act East Policy", External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Thursday.
Terming the 'Act East Policy' a success in terms of investment, security and connectivity, the minister told mediapersons that the situation in Manipur, where several people been killed due to violent conflict between Meiteis and Kukis since the last one month, is an internal issue and has no bearing on the policy aimed at enhancing relations with south-east Asian nations.
"The situation in Manipur will ameliorate but it is an internal issue, which cannot be compared to the Act East Policy," he said.
Under the policy, Jaishankar said that greater investment has taken place, more security, greater connectivity and stronger people-to-people contact is happening.
Result of 2024 polls will be same as earlier: Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday countered Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's comments that democracy was under threat in India, saying "had this been the case, why do elections happen and different parties win".
Jaishankar also said that Narendra Modi would come back as Prime Minister in 2024.
"The world is watching us. Elections happen in our country and parties win or lose. Had there been no democracy, then why would elections be taking place, and giving different outcomes? Though we know that the result in 2024 (Lok Sabha elections) will be the same," Jaishankar quipped.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, during his US tour, has attacked the ruling BJP dispensation and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that democratic institutions are under attack in India.
Soon after being disqualified as Lok Sabha MP, he had said that democracy is under threat in the country.
When asked further to sum up Prime Minister Narendra Modi's best moment in terms of foreign policy in the last nine years of his government, Jaishankar said: "The Prime Minister has a long way to go in his tenure (as prime minister). But just to answer the question, in the last nine years, India has emerged as a self caring country which has made progress on multiple fronts."
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