Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 14 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson CR Kesavan on Monday hit out at Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over the latter's criticism of the recently concluded BRICS Summit, saying that India's "tremendous success" at the New Delhi Summit had left the Congress leader "speechless".
He further accused the Congress of indulging in "petty politics".
The two-day summit, held on September 12-13 at Bharat Mandapam, brought together leaders of the eleven-member BRICS grouping and partner countries.
Speaking to ANI here, Kesavan said, "India is rising and winning on the international stage, but unfortunately, the cynical Congress and Rahul Gandhi are whining and sulking non-stop. The tremendous success of the 18th BRICS Summit was so comprehensive that even a perpetual pessimist like Rahul Gandhi was left speechless. Rahul Gandhi could not criticise the comprehensive success of the BRICS Summit, so now he's resorting, in the most petulant manner, to petty politics."
The BJP spokesperson also targeted senior Congress leaders over their remarks on the summit.
"We also saw how P Chidambaram and other angry 'Naraaz Fufas' of the Congress Party had poo-pooed this BRICS Summit, and now this has very badly boomerang-ed and backfired on the Congress Party, so much so that even their own Cabinet colleagues have fact-checked and snubbed them," Kesavan said.
Taking a swipe at the previous Congress-led UPA government, Kesavan compared India's position during the 2012 BRICS Summit with the country's current standing under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
"When the 4th BRICS Summit happened in 2012 under the Congress-led UPA regime, India was the weakest link in BRICS due to the economic mismanagement and policy paralysis of the UPA," he alleged.
"So much so that international media, in the most shameful manner, talked about removing India from BRICS and replacing it with Indonesia. Today, under PM Modi's leadership, everything has changed," he said.
Kesavan further highlighted the outcomes of the latest summit, saying, "After the successful 18th BRICS Summit and the New Delhi Declaration, India has the fastest-growing economy in the world..."
Meanwhile, from Russia and China to Iran and Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomatic calendar remained packed on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit, with PM Modi holding 15 sit-down bilateral meetings with Heads of State and Heads of Government over the last three days.
The meetings, held alongside the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, have been in addition to pull-aside interactions with various world leaders and leaders of international institutions, giving a broad sweep to India’s diplomatic engagement during its BRICS chairship.
Among the most significant engagements were PM Modi’s meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, with discussions covering bilateral ties, regional conflicts, multilateral cooperation, border peace, maritime security and the priorities of the Global South. (ANI)
"India rising on global stage; Rahul Gandhi sulking over BRICS success": BJP's CR Kesavan
