00:00Big breaking news coming in. It seems that former diplomat and Congress leader Manish Shankar Iyer has raised some questions
00:08regarding India's foreign policy.
00:10He has questioned the foreign policy that currently India is adopting.
00:15He is targeting especially India's Pakistan policy.
00:20In fact, Manish Shankar Iyer has said that this foreign policy currently seems to be merely transactional and is definitely
00:28not moral.
00:30While raising questions, he also said that we say that this is not an era of war and then we
00:37go to war.
00:38He's referring to the fact that India and Pakistan had a war in between and he's saying that India is
00:44telling everyone that this is not the era of war but then goes ahead and is pursuing war.
00:53We are being seen as hypocritical because we tell the world this is not an era of war and then
01:01we go to war with Pakistan.
01:03We say that there should be diplomacy and dialogue.
01:06The only countries with which we don't have diplomacy and dialogue is Pakistan.
01:10And with China, we have annoyed them by joining court.
01:15And now even America is saying that court doesn't matter.
01:19So what kind of a diplomacy is this?
01:22It has nothing to do with our strategic autonomy.
01:27It has everything to do with trying to play both sides against the middle.
01:33This is transactional.
01:34It's not moral.
01:37And joining us now is India Today's Rahul Gautam.
01:40Rahul, while Manishankar Iyer is known to have very strong opinions, he is a former diplomat as well.
01:47And it seems this time again he thinks that India is trying to play both the sides.
01:52And somehow the foreign policy according to him is not moral?
01:58I mean, you mentioned that Mr. Manishankar Iyer has got his own reading of the foreign policy of the incumbent
02:07regime.
02:08And it has been very critical of the fact that the manner in which India is dealing with its neighbors,
02:17particularly with China and Pakistan.
02:20And in the same context, he severely castigated the approach of Indian government, saying that on one hand, we've been
02:28saying that this is not an era of war.
02:30But at the same time, we, you know, we went ahead and had a war with Pakistan that he was
02:36referring to operations in Dul.
02:38Also, he said that we are not speaking, you know, much with China.
02:43We've already annoyed them by forming a quad with America.
02:46And at the same time, we are not serving our own interests, given the fact that America is saying that
02:51a quad is no more relevant, you know, for their interests.
02:56So, in a way, he's saying that our diplomacy is merely transactional.
03:02It is based on movement.
03:03It's based on, it's very reactive.
03:05And it's not just moral.
03:07And in fact, we also described the approach as, you know, saying that it's a very hypocritical approach on the
03:15part of Indian regime.
03:17So, expect now that this would evoke sharp reactions to the BJP, because we have seen in the past as
03:22well how the BJP has been, you know, latching upon the statements of Mr. Manishankar again and always dragging, you
03:30know, Gandhis and entire Congress party.
03:32And in fact, obviously, they would try to create a narrative, which they've been building upon, on these statements, that
03:38the Congress party has a pro-Pakistan stance and has always been, you know, furthering the interests of anti-national
03:46forces.
03:47So, expect that a sharp reaction would be coming in from BJP leaders from any moment now.
03:52Right. Thank you very much, Rahul, for those details.
03:55So, more fodder for controversy for BJP.
