Shimla, May 29: Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that it is under his leadership that the foreign policy of India has given fame to the nation, which has resulted in New Delhi gaining popularity across the globe.
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In an interaction with intellectuals during an event in Shimla, Jaishankar said, “Under the leadership of PM Modi, the foreign policy of India has given fame to our country and India is going to play the role of Vishvaguru in the near future…”
He said that the nation continued to face complex problems on the India-China border for the last few years but is now “strengthening our borders” by building modern infrastructure, including China bordering Himachal Pradesh.
“The Modi government has increased the budget for infrastructural development on the China border many fold enhancing it from Rs 3000cr to Rs 15000cr. We have done this along all districts across all China’s bordering states building wide and all-weather roads and tunnels to reach the borders,” Jaishankar said.
Highlighting the geopolitical issues that have gained attention in the present times, Jaishankar said, “When India decided to buy cheap Russian cruel oil during the beginning Ukraine-Russia war, we faced plenty of pressures from various quarters of the global geopolitical entities but we did not succumb to them.”
“Same pressure we had to face from China when we joined the Quad group but we chartered our own course which protected our interests and we succeeded. This all happened due to strong leadership provided by our Prime Minister Modi,” he strongly asserted.
Furthermore, Jaishankar also spoke at length on the ongoing general elections in India and said that the ten years of the Modi government has a credible record.
“We are facing challenges from terrorism but we are responding to this. It is the responsibility of the people of the country to elect a stable government and it will give a message to the world,” said Jaishankar.
The EAM said the people of this country have opportunities in different parts of the world in different sectors. In his more than four decades of career, he said, this was the first time, the diversity of India was introduced to the World.
“It will help in boosting tourism, especially here in Himachal,” the EAM said.
The minister also elaborated on the vibrant village programme to strengthen the infrastructure in bordering villages while an informal interaction with the journalists in Shimla.
He further added that India has adopted a citizen-centric foreign policy, which has earned the support base in the UN.
Jaishankar said that ten years of growth in India has improved the image of the country.
“10 years ago, a lot of things were said about us. And people like me who used to go to other countries as a duty had to listen to a lot. But today, it is said that this is an India where every day 30kms of highways and 14 km of railway tracks are built, where 8 new airports and two new metro rails are built every year. Our image has improved because of the development on the ground. The transformation seen in the last 10 years is the base of the Viksit Bharat. It is seen in the figures,” Jaishankar said.
“10 years ago, income tax payers were 3.5 crores. Today, there are more than eight crores. In the last 10 years, there have been 6 crores more subscribers of Provident Fund…The number. of colleges and universities has doubled in the last 10 years…” he added.
The Lok Sabha elections are being held in India across seven phases. The counting of votes will happen on June 4.
While Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third straight term to power, while the Opposition INDIA bloc is aiming to wrest back power from the incumbent BJP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is seeking his third term from Varanasi. He won the seat with massive margins in 2014 and 2019. (Agencies)
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