Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Maldives row saying he is taking everything personally after coming to power. A row erupted last week after three deputy minister of Maldives commented disparagingly about Modi's recent visit to Lakshadweep.
"After Narendra Modi came to power he is taking everything personally, Kharge said while speaking to reporters in Karnataka's Kalaburgi, reported news agency ANI.
"At the international level, we should keep a good relationship with our neighbours...We should act according to time...We can not change our neighbours," added the Congress leader.
On Monday, Congress leader Manish Tewari said that Maldives was now in the Chinese sphere of influence among other South Asian countries neighbouring India and asked what was New Delhi's influence in the region.
In a post on X, Tewari said: "Maldives is now in the Chinese sphere of influence. Sri Lanka has bent to the Chinese wind. China is gobbling up territory in Bhutan. China has accumulated disproportionate influence over the polity in Nepal. The Military Junta in Myanmar for decades has been beholden to the Communist Party of China (CPC). Pakistan is a client state of China. China has developed proximate ties to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Chinese economic influence in Bangladesh is also on the ascendant. What is India‘s influence in South Asia currently? Folks need to take a reality check!,"
The External Affairs Ministry on Monday summoned the Maldivian envoy to India and conveyed its strong concerns over the remarks by the Maldivian ministers.
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