'When Question Is Out Of Syllabus': BJP Attacks Rahul Over UK Interview. Shashi Tharoor Hits Back

BJP took a swipe at Rahul over his remarks on foreign policy at an interaction with Chatham House think tank. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said there was nothing wrong in what Rahul Gandhi said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during an interaction at the Chatham House, in London

Source : PTI

The political slugfest between BJP and Congress over Rahul Gandhi's UK visit took a new turn on Thursday after the saffron party took a swipe at the Congress leader over his remarks on foreign policy at an interaction with Chatham House think tank.

BJP national spokesperson Shezad Poonawalla said Rahul Gandhi was asked an "out-of-syllabus question" and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh did not prepare him with the answer in advance. 

Hitting back, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said there was nothing wrong in what Rahul Gandhi said.

At the Chatham House interaction in London, Rahul Gandhi was asked whether he would like to introduce any change to India's foreign policy. Former PM Jawahar Lal Nehru's Non-Aligned Movement was cited as an example along with the question.

The former Congress chief said India's foreign policy should reflect the nation transitioning from rural to urban.

"The principle of foreign policy is unfortunately self-interest and any Indian government would pay attention to that. In answering the question, the first step is what is important to us as a country and what we are trying to do. We are a rural country and making a transition into an urban country. This transition has a huge amount of energy, potential for violence, potential for transformation...if you look at UPA policies, they were all about trying to manage this transition from rural to an urban-connected country. Our foreign policy would follow that," Rahul Gandhi said.

Tweeting a video of the interaction, BJP's Poonawalla criticised Gandhi over his answer.

"When question is out of syllabus and Jairam hasn't given you the answer in advance...But Rahul Gandhi's sheer lack of depth and articulation to deal even with a simple question doesn't surprise me...Rahul hardly reads, hardly listens and hardly learns.. he pretends to read.. he pretends to listen...he pretends to learn...It takes only one simple question to expose that all of this is just a facade that has been built up by a very very expensive PR team," the BJP spokesperson said.

Coming to Rahul's defence, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, "That foreign policy must serve national self-interest; our overriding priority is the domestic transformation the nation is undergoing, so our foreign policy should support that. That's essentially one of my own arguments in 'Pax Indica".

Rahul Gandhi's UK tour, where he delivered a lecture at his alma mater Cambridge University and spoke at UK Parliament, has triggered controversies back in India. BJP has accusing Rahul of insulting India's democracy from foreign land.

Former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has accused Gandhi of seeking the intervention of Europe and the US in India. On the other hand, Congress has said the ruling party was "rattled" whenever Rahul speaks.