'Don't have problem with what he does but...': S Jaishankar says Rahul Gandhi has a habit of criticising India

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has a habit of criticising the country whenever he goes abroad. He said he has no problem with what Gandhi does in India but it is not in the country's national interest to take it abroad.

"Rahul Gandhi is habitual of criticising the country whenever he goes abroad. I don't have a problem with what he does in India but it is not in India's benefit to take it abroad," Jaishankar said while responding to a question on Gandhi's remarks in the US.

Rahul Gandhi, who is currently in the US for a 10-day trip, made some damning allegations during his multiple interactions with the Indian diaspora and students. He said democracy was under threat, institutions were being misused, and voices were being muzzled in India.

At an event in the US, Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to drive the Indian car by only looking in the rear-view mirror which will lead to "one accident after another". "Back home we have a problem, and I will tell you the problem. BJP and the RSS are incapable of looking at the future. They’re incapable. Unse aap kuch bhi poocho, woh peeche ki aur dekhte hain (You ask anything they look into the past)," he said.

At another event in Santa Clara, Gandhi took a jibe at PM Modi and said he can even explain to God how the universe works. "The world is too big and complicated for any person to know everything. That is the disease...There is a group of people in India who are absolutely convinced they know everything. They think they know even more than God. They can sit with God and explain to him what's going on. And of course, our prime minister is one such specimen. If you make Modiji sit with God, he will explain to God how the universe works," Gandhi said while speaking at the 'Mohabbat Ki Dukaan' event in Santa Clara, California.

When asked about his response to Gandhi's remarks, Jaishankar, who was in Cape Town to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, said that it is important to remember that there are things bigger than politics when you step out of the country. "I differ with them but how I counter it, I would like to go home and do it. Watch me when I get back," Jaishankar said. 

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