Congress to corner Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign trips have come under the Congress scanner with the opposition party set to corner him for a series of “gaffes” while on visits abroad.

The Congress is particularly irked at Modi’s spectacular shows at the Madison Square Garden in New York and the Allphones Arena in Sydney which were a runaway success with the NRIs.

However, the Congress has seized upon the Modi government’s inability to have the prime minister address a public rally in Janakpur during his recent visit to Nepal.

“They are not your voters,” said Anand Sharma, the deputy leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha. He claimed Modi had thrown diplomatic protocol to the wind by holding individual meetings with Japanese minister after his summit-level talks with his counterpart Shinzo Abe.

The Congress has given notice in the Rajya Sabha to discuss India’s foreign policy and is keen to pin down the Modi government for “ruining” relations with age-old friends.

He said Modi’s attempts to address a rally in Janakpur and the public advice to Nepal to agree to a Constitution had angered political parties in Kathmandu.

“Russia signing a defence pact with Pakistan was unthinkable. The UPA had ensured Russia does not sell arms to Islamabad,” Sharma said.