PM has not allowed vote bank politics to dictate diplomacy: Nadda

India’s willingness to take a stance on complex foreign policy issues, whether the Russia-Ukraine conflict or Israel, has raised its profile globally, says the BJP president

BJP president J.P. Nadda on Wednesday cited India’s stand on the Russia-Ukraine war as a classic example of how the government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, has not shied away from taking a stand on complex issues, which has also changed the way the country is being percieved globally.

He was speaking at the release of the book, Modi: Shaping a Global Order in Flux, co-authored by the BJP’s foreign affairs cell in-charge, Vijay Chauthaiwale, along with Sujan Chinoy and Uttam Kumar Sinha.

On the Russia-Ukraine war, India took a stand which may not have been acceptable to all countries but was being appreciated by all, Mr. Nadda said. “Unlike the past, India now does not shy from taking positions. For a long time, India has been shying from taking hard positions. Under Prime Minister Modi, India on international issues would take a stand on complex issues, that too from positions of strength,” he added.

Indian government leaders earlier did not “dare” to visit Israel due to domestic vote bank politics, but Mr. Modi had changed this policy, the BJP president said. “The domestic vote bank politics compelled, and India couldn’t develop a relationship with Israel,” he said, pointing out that Mr. Modi had visited both Israel and Palestine. “This shows India is capable of handling two different countries in the best possible manner,” he added.

“Prime Minister Modi has also succeeded in de-hyphenating India with Pakistan which was not the case earlier,” Mr. Nadda said. India is now seen as much ahead of Pakistan internationally and the neighbouring country is isolated on the issue of terrorism, he claimed. He said that not enough has been written about the Prime Minister’s contribution in changing how India is looked globally, and hoped that the new book would start a debate.

“It is necessary to understand what was the image of India before Modi ji came to power. The economy was declining, India had an image of a corrupt state, repeated terrorist attacks and a lack of stable government. The very sad part was that the authority of the PM was eroded,” said Mr. Nadda. Mr. Modi had visited around 60 countries and undertook over 100 overseas journeys, he said, adding that the PM had strengthened India’s ties with old allies and started new partnerships as well.

While India had good ties with countries like the UAE, Sri Lanka and Nepal, efforts were not made by previous dispensations to strengthen them, something that Mr. Modi had done, he said.