'We have a new China guru': Jaishankar fires back at Rahul Gandhi, says didn't sign secret pacts with Beijing

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday took a not-so-veiled jibe at the Congress party over its senior leaders' China visit during the Doklam crisis. He said that he visited China to make India's position clear on issues such as trade restrictions and terrorism. 

“Yes, I went to China. I went to make our position clear on trade restrictions and terrorism. I did not go to open the Olympics or sign secret agreements,” Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha.

In a veiled dig at the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Jaishankar called him "new China Guru", saying that he takes private tuition from the Chinese ambassador.

Citing the Doklam crisis, the Foreign Affairs Minister said that the Gandhi scion allegedly chose to take a briefing from the Chinese Ambassador instead of the Indian government. 

"The Doklam crisis was on. The Leader of Opposition chose to take a briefing from who — not from our Govt or MEA — from the Chinese Ambassador, while our military was confronting the Chinese military," he said. 

This, however, is not the first time that Jaishankar has attacked the Congress over its "secret agreements" with China. On July 25, he alleged that India's oldest party had a "history of secret agreements" with China, undermining the sovereignty of India. 

The diplomat-turned-politician referred to the 1962 India-China war and alleged that Congress's policies at the time led to territorial losses while weakening India's strategic position. He also accused the Congress of failing to counter Beijing's growing influence. 

Countering Congress's criticism over PM Modi's absence from the 2025 Olympics opening ceremony, he called it "irrelevant" and suggested that India's foreign policy gives weightage to national security over symbolic gestures. 

During his visit to China earlier this month, Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Wang Yi in Beijing. The visit was a first since the military standoff between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The agenda of the meeting was India-China's bilateral relationship, with a focus on people-centric engagements and resuming the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra. The two sides agreed to take practical steps to facilitate people-to-people exchanges. They discussed regional and global issues of common interest, and expressed India's support for the Chinese side for a successful SCO Presidency.