'What kind of I.N.D.I.A are you, if you can't...': Jaishankar assails Opposition alliance

Assailing the opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) for disrupting Rajya Sabha proceedings, while he was giving a suo moto statement over the country’s foreign policy in the past few months, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that they (opposition alliance ) claim to be 'INDIA', but if they are not prepared to listen about India's national interests then what kind of India are they.

“If you claim to be INDIA but do not want to listen to India’s national interests, then what kind of INDIA are you? You are an INDIA which is prepared to sacrifice national interest, that is not India,” Jaishankar said while he was delivering a suo moto statement on the country’s foreign policy.

Chaos erupted during his statement in the Upper House of Parliament, as members in the Treasury benches chanted “Modi, Modi,” while those in the opposition raised slogans of “India, India.”

The External Affairs Minister spoke suo moto in the House to brief members about the successes of India's foreign policy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visits abroad amid continuous disruption by opposition members in the House.

During media interaction outside the Parliament, Jaishankar said, "It was extremely unfortunate that the opposition had prioritised 'partisan politics', describing it as a very state of affairs. It is not just a government's achievement but an achievement for the country."

Noting that India's president and prime minister have received the highest honours from other countries, he said, "If you cannot respect the president, cannot respect the vice president, cannot respect the prime minister, if you won't allow the foreign minister to make a statement in the House; then it's a very sorry state of affairs."

'Opposition not ready to listen': Jaishankar on Rajya Sabha ruckus 

EAM said that he felt bad that the opposition was not ready to listen to anything adding that the opposition’s objective is to criticise any progress India makes and prevent its message from spreading in the country.

“I wanted to inform the House of the developments made in the past month. You saw a very successful visit of the PM to the US. I felt bad that the opposition was not ready to listen. It seemed that they wanted to criticise any and every achievement of the country,” said Jaishankar.

He said, "This is India’s foreign policy, not any party’s foreign policy. So when we present the achievements of India’s foreign policy in front of the house but we saw that the opposition was not ready to listen at all.”

“Foreign policy is one area where we must work together. If there is a dispute between each other in the country, we should keep India’s image united outside the country,” added Jaishankar.

Later, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm amid a ruckus created by both treasury benches and the Opposition. Earlier in the day, the I.N.D.I.A alliance arrived at the Parliament wearing black clothes to register their protest against the Manipur violence. Earlier on Wednesday, I.N.D.I.A bloc rallied behind a no-confidence motion against the PM Modi government moved by the Congress in Lok Sabha.