Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not invited to attend the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on January 20. Gandhi said that if there had been a robust system in place, the foreign minister need not have gone to the US to ‘seek’ invitations for the prime minister.
“When we talk to the USA, we would not send our Foreign Minister multiple times to request an invitation for the Prime Minister to the coronation,” Gandhi said, speaking in Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address.
“Because if we had a production system and if we were working on these technologies, the American President would come here and invite the Prime Minister,” said Rahul Gandhi.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar represented India at the swearing-in ceremony of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.
The remarks did not go well with the government. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju objected, calling it an ‘unsubstantiated’ statement. “Leader of Opposition cannot make such a serious unsubstantial statement. This is related to the relation between two countries and he is making an unverified statement about the invitation of the Prime Minister of our country,” Rijiju said.
Rahul Gandhi responded to Rijiju’s objection bysaying, “I apologise for disturbing your peace of mind.”
The row comes at a time when the Ministry of External Affairs said on January 31 that India and the United States were working towards an early visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US to further deepen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic partnership.
If we had a production system… the American President would come here and invite the Prime Minister.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the dates for the visit are being worked on and will be announced at the appropriate time.
Union Budget 2025 Session of Parliament, which began with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both Houses of Parliament on January 31, will continue until February 13 in the first leg. The session will reconvene on March 10 and continue until April 4. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2025 on February 1.
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