In a fiery address during the ongoing debate on Operation Sindoor in the Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar launched a scathing attack on sections of the Opposition, accusing them of selective memory, shallow foreign policy understanding, and harboring questionable admiration for China.
Referring to Congress MP Jairam Ramesh without naming him directly, Jaishankar said, “There are ‘China Gurus’. One of them is the member sitting in front of me, whose affection for China is so great that he created a new word — Chindia — a merger of China and India.”
Mocking Opposition members for what he called "superficial understanding" of China, Jaishankar added, “I may lack knowledge about China because I didn’t learn about China through the Olympics. Some people gained their knowledge of China during their visit to the Olympics. Let’s not discuss who they met or what they signed there. They even took private tuitions at their homes from the Chinese Ambassador.”
The minister rebuffed Opposition claims that the growing ties between Pakistan and China were a recent development. “'China Gurus' say that Pakistan and China have close ties... Of course we know that, and we are dealing with it. But to claim these ties developed overnight shows they were clearly asleep during their history class,” he said.
Shifting focus to the Indus Water Treaty, Jaishankar described it as “an extraordinary agreement,” highlighting its rarity and generosity. “I cannot think of any agreement in the world where a country has allowed its major rivers to flow to the next country without having rights on that river. It is important to remember the history of this treaty now that we’ve decided to put it in abeyance,” he said.
The minister also took aim at the Congress party’s selective remembrance of historical events. “Yesterday, I heard people speak as if history is an inconvenience. Some are clearly uncomfortable with historical facts. They prefer to forget what doesn’t suit them and only recall what fits their narrative,” he remarked.
