Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his “sold Bharat Mata” remark, asserting that it was the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government that had “sold the country” and weakened India’s global standing.
Participating in the debate on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said Congress had betrayed farmers, the poor, and the nation, while also “hyphenating India with Pakistan” through its foreign policy decisions.
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“It is the Congress which sold the government, farmers, the poor and the nation. It was you who hyphenated India with Pakistan. As Kiren Rijiju rightly said, not a single person has been born till date who can sell India, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will never do such a thing,” the Finance Minister said.
Referring to the 2009 Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Statement, Sitharaman accused the UPA of diluting India’s position on sovereignty and national security in its engagement with Pakistan.
“Those who wanted to negotiate with Pakistan at Sharm el-Sheikh are now giving us suggestions on negotiations,” she added.
The Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Statement was issued following talks between then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Pakistan’s then Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, a move that had drawn criticism at the time for its handling of terrorism and bilateral relations.
Sitharaman’s remarks underscored the continued political sparring between the ruling BJP and the Congress over national security, foreign policy, and governance during the budget session.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)
