In a sharp rebuttal to the Opposition during the Operation Sindoor debate in Parliament, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar launched a pointed attack on Congress leaders, accusing them of creating the current geopolitical challenges with China and Pakistan. Amid noisy protests from the Opposition, Jaishankar took a direct jibe at senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, sarcastically referring to him as a “China Guru.”
Speaking in Rajya Sabha during special discussion on India’s strong, successful and decisive #OperationSindoor.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 30, 2025
“There are ‘China Gurus’. One of them is the member sitting in front of me (Jairam Ramesh), whose affection for China is so great, that he coined the term ‘Chindia’,” Jaishankar remarked, referencing Ramesh’s decades-old suggestion of India-China cooperation.
Jaishankar Blames UPA Decisions for Current China-Pakistan Cooperation
Responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s repeated claims of a growing nexus between Pakistan and China, Jaishankar stressed that such ties did not emerge overnight but were a result of policy choices made under previous Congress-led governments.
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“The UPA government gave opposition to China and even made it a strategic partner. They also took private tuitions at their homes from the Chinese Ambassador,” Jaishankar alleged. He added, “Saying that these ties developed overnight means they were sleeping during the history class.”
Jaishankar also took a swipe at how some Congress leaders gained their understanding of China: “I may lack knowledge about China because I did not learn about China through the Olympics… Some people gained their knowledge of China during their visit to the Olympics.”
Congress Counters With Pakistan-China Nexus Charge
During the Monsoon session, Congress intensified its criticism of the Centre’s foreign policy. Rahul Gandhi, in a fiery speech, stated, “India’s biggest foreign policy challenge has been to keep Pakistan and China separated… But we failed, and they have destroyed the Indian foreign policy. The Indian government thought that they were fighting Pakistan, and when they arrived, they realised that they were fighting Pakistan and China.”
Rahul also reiterated that his earlier warning in the House about the growing alliance between China and Pakistan had been mocked, despite it being a strategic concern.
Jairam Ramesh, on his part, has defended his long-standing “Chindia” concept. In an interview to a Chinese state-run publication in 2014, he had said, “Ten years ago, when I proposed the concept of ‘Chindia,’ the whole idea was that India and China could cooperate and work together to face challenges ahead.”
