"Congress leaders appreciating PM Modi's foreign policy a welcome change:" CR Kesavan on Shashi Tharoor's West Asia statement

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 20 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson C.R. Kesavan, on Friday, while appreciating Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's support for India's foreign policy concerning West Asia, asserted that senior Congress leaders acknowledging Prime Minister Narendra Modi's balanced approach amid current global conflicts is a welcome change from Rahul Gandhi's constant criticism of the government.

Speaking to ANI, the BJP spokesperson said that PM Modi's diplomatic outreach and goodwill have consistently secured India's interests and well being of the Indian diaspora abroad.
"... Senior Congress leaders appreciating the nuanced and balanced foreign policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the current global conflict is indeed a welcome change compared to Rahul Gandhi's mindless criticism of the government. For PM, the welfare of Bharat and its people has always been paramount... and his extensive diplomatic outreach, and exceptional personal goodwill have consistently safeguarded India's interests and the well-being of the Indian diaspora in conflict zones..." said Kesavan.
Earlier, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor described India's response to the ongoing West Asia crisis as an exercise in "responsible statecraft," stressing that restraint in such a volatile situation reflects strength rather than weakness.
In an interview with ANI, Tharoor said, "Restraint is not surrender. Restraint is strength... it shows that we know what our interests are and we will act first of all to protect our interests."
Referring to the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States, Tharoor, however, said India should have expressed condolences earlier following the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, while maintaining a cautious diplomatic stance.
"There is a difference between condemnation and condolence... condolence is an expression of sympathy," he noted.
Highlighting the broader global impact of the conflict, Tharoor warned of severe economic disruptions, particularly in energy supplies.
"So much of oil and gas supplies have been affected... we are not able to receive it anymore, except in very small instalments," he said, pointing to shortages of LPG and disruptions in daily life across India.
He added that rising crude oil prices -- from around $64 per barrel at the start of the conflict to between $100 and $120 -- could trigger widespread inflation.
"We're looking at a very serious situation of petrol inflation, which in turn has a knock-on effect on everything," he said.
Calling for a clearer end goal in the ongoing military campaign, Tharoor questioned the strategic direction of the conflict.
"We don't know exactly what the desired end point is... I would have liked to have thought there was some strategic logic behind this assault," he said.
He urged countries like India to play a constructive diplomatic role in de-escalation efforts. "What many countries like us ought to be doing... is to actually take an initiative to call for peace, to give both sides a ladder to climb down," he said. (ANI)