Congress kudos to Modi on UN speech

The Congress on Sunday appreciated the restraint displayed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech at the United Nations, but lashed out at his week-long visit to the US which it claimed had “no tangible outcomes”.

“Glad Prime Minister Modi did not hyphenate India, Pakistan, but spoke of India's size, achievements, potential, cultural heritage. India and Prime Minister Modi won hands down,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said here.

In a statement here, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said the party was in “complete agreement” with the stand taken by Modi on Pakistan and the continuing threat of terrorism.

Sharma also slammed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for his “provocative and preposterous” statements at the United Nations General Assembly.

“The language of Pakistan PM was unbecoming of a Prime Minister and has no place in any civilised discourse,” said Sharma, the deputy leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha.

However, Sharma trained his guns on Modi for his “failure” in convincing US President Donald Trump to restore the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) for Indian exports to American markets, withdrawal of the reduction in a number of H1-B visas and steep hike in the fee.

“Congress Party notes with disappointment that the much-hyped meeting of Prime Minister Modi with US President Trump has failed to meet India’s expectations despite the public display of bonhomie and special friendship at the Houston ‘Howdy Modi’ extravaganza,” Sharma said.

Congress said the grand celebrations on Saturday night on Modi's return from the visit to the US were misplaced” as there were "no tangible outcomes" from Modi's meetings in the US.

“Failure to conclude the trade deal has caused disappointment in the Indian industry and exporters weighed down by the recession in our economy,” Sharma said.

He also dismissed Modi's meetings with other heads of state at the UN as a “routine affair” and a standard practice at the multi-lateral forum.