External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar has become quite popular among youngsters in India. On Monday, he shared a light-hearted moment with young people at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in New Delhi when he was asked about 'which was better: his prior life as a minister or the ongoing one as a leader'. His witty response to the inquiry went viral on social media.
"Sab ko jawani achhi lagti hai (Everybody likes energy)," he jested, as the crowd erupted in laughter. Jaishankar later said, "I will take your question seriously," and the man who asked the question informed him that as he "follows" him, he would set his goals based on the response
It is not the first time that Jaishankar's response to a question has gone viral. Be it shutting down criticism of “human rights abuses" in India, defending India’s Russian oil imports, or tearing into China over the LAC issue, S Jaishankar's hard-hitting responses have made him extremely popular in the country, and even abroad. Here are 9 times he shut down critics and defended India
“Europe has to grow out of the mindset that Europe’s problems are the world’s problems, but the world’s problems are not Europe’s problems”. This statement by Jaishankar at the GLOBESEC 2022 Bratislava Forum went viral. When another reporter asked him why Europe would help India knowing that it doesn’t come with its full support to Ukraine, Jaishankar highlighted the hypocrisy of Europe saying, “Europe has been singularly silent on many things which were happening, for example in Asia."
At the GLOBESEC 2022 Bratislava Forum, S Jaishankar also didn’t shy away from stating the double standards of the Western countries while imposing sanctions on Russia and Russian oil; how they planned the sanctions in a way that they won't see a traumatic effect on economy while not giving that same freedom to other countries
This remark was made by S Jaishankar at an event in Washington as he raised questions on the merits of the US-Pakistan relationship after the US announced a package deal of F-16 fighter jets for Pakistan. “It’s a relationship that has neither ended up serving Pakistan well nor serving American interests well," he said adding that US needs to re-think the merits of this relationship and why they are still continuing it
Eric Garcetti, the US Ambassador to India, has been an outspoken critic of human rights in India. He had said the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was discriminatory towards Muslims and that the law would be a core piece of his engagement. Given this background, when S Jaishankar was asked at the India Today Conclave 2023 what happens when Garcetti arrives in India, he said with a smile, “Let him come here. Pyaar se samjha denge”.
S Jaishankar's stern reply to a Pakistani journalist asking how long South Asia is going to see terrorism disseminating from New Delhi, Kabul, and Pakistan, also went viral. “You know, you’re asking the wrong minister when you say how long will we do this? Because it is the ministers of Pakistan who will tell you how long Pakistan intends to practice terrorism,” Jaishankar said while addressing reporters at the UN Security Council stakeout
When questioned by the American media on India’s purchase of crude oil from Russia, S Jaishankar had hit back saying that the US should advise the same to its European allies. “If you’re looking at energy purchases from Russia, I’d suggest your attention should be on Europe. We buy some energy necessary for our energy security. But I suspect, looking at figures, our purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon,” he said
While defending India’s decision to look for “good deals" for its energy requirement, S Jaishankar said, "When the oil prices go up, I think it is natural for countries to go out into the market and look for what are the good deals for their people. But I am pretty sure if we wait for two or three months and actually look at who are the big buyers of Russian oil and gas, I suspect the list would not be too different from what it used to be and I suspect we won’t be in the top 10 on that list."
S Jaishankar launched a scathing attack on Bilawal Bhutto Zardari saying that "as a promoter, justifier and a spokesperson of the terrorism industry, his position on the menace was called out at the SCO meeting". In a savage jibe at Pakistan, the EAM said that "Pakistan's credibility in dealing with terrorism is depleting even faster than their forex reserves."
In response to a question from a Pakistani Journalist about whether there could be talks between India and Pakistan on combating the menace of terrorism, S Jaishankar said, "Victims of terrorism do not sit together with perpetrators of terrorism to discuss terrorism."