“From Suave, Liberal Officer To…”: P Chidambaram Jabs S Jaishankar

New Delhi: 

In a sharp response to Dr S Jaishankar’s remarks on the Katchatheevu island row, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram questioned why the foreign minister is “doing a somersault” on the issue. Mr Chidambaram also said that Dr Jaishankar’s journey from being a “suave liberal foreign service officer” to “a mouthpiece of the RSS-BJP” will be “recorded in the annals of acrobatic sports”.

The counter-strike came after Dr Jaishankar today doubled down on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charge at the Congress over the island row.

Quoting decades-old discussions in Parliament, the minister said the governments led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi were indifferent to the island.The Katchatheevu island, he said, was a “nusiance” for Nehru. It was during the Indira Gandhi government’s tenure when India gave up fishing rights near the island, he said.

The matter has become a talking point following a media report based on an RTI reply received by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai. Dr Jaishankar stressed that the matter has not emerged suddenly, saying that it is a “live issue”. He also said that the Congress and the DMK are approaching the matter as if they have responsibility.

The recurrent arrests of Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka is an issue that finds resonance among the people. With the elections near, the BJP wants to play up this matter as it pushes for a better show in the southern state. The Prime Minister has accused the Congress of “callously” giving away the island to Sri Lanka and said the DMK had done nothing to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s interests.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Mr Chidambaram said, “It is true that Fishermen were detained in the last 50 years. Likewise, India has detained many SL fishermen. Every government has negotiated with Sri Lanka and freed our fishermen. This has happened when Mr Jaishankar was a foreign service officer and when he was Foreign Secretary and when he is Foreign Minister.”