Big bullies dont provide USD 4.5 billion to neighbours” says EAM Jaishankar– takes a dig at Maldives.
EAM Dr Jaishankar slams neighboring country (Maldive’s) President Muizzu for his comment “We can’t be bullied” “Big bullies don’t provide $4.5 billion when their neighbours are in trouble. Bullies don’t supply vaccines to other countries when Covid is on. Bullies don’t make exceptions to their own rules to respond to food, fuel & fertilizer demands when war in some part of world is compicating their lives”
Jaishankar’s remark came after Muizzu, in an indirect reference to India, said in January that no country had the licence to “bully us”, even though it was a tiny nation, amid a diplomatic tussle between both countries.
Speaking at an event while promoting his book ‘Why Bharat Matters’, Jaishankar stressed India’s active role in providing timely assistance to its neighbours during crises when asked whether New Delhi was perceived as a “bully” in the subcontinent and Indian Ocean region, news agency ANI reported.
The big change today in this part of the world is what has happened between India and its neighbours. When you say India is perceived as a big bully, you know, big bullies don’t provide $4.5 billion when the neighbours are in trouble. Big bullies don’t supply vaccines to other countries when Covid-19 is on or make exceptions to their own rules to respond to food demands or fuel demands or fertiliser demands because some war in some other part of the world has complicated their lives,” Jaishankar said at the event on Saturday (March 2).
A video clip of Jaishankar’s response to the ‘barb’ was widely shared across social media platforms.
“You also have to look today at actually what is changed between India and its neighbours. Certainly, with Bangladesh and Nepal, I mean today you have a power grid, you have roads which didn’t exist a decade ago, you have railways which didn’t exist a decade ago, there’s usage of waterways. Indian businesses use ports of Bangladesh on a national treatment basis,” Jaishankar added.
Emphasizing the importance of active engagement in foreign policy matters for the “average person,” External Affairs Minister Jaishankar underscored the necessity for broader public involvement in understanding and shaping India’s diplomatic relations.
“Certainly, all Indians need to take more interest in foreign policy. it is very common all over the world, there is a belief that foreign policy is something complicated, esoteric, that should be left to certain people to deal with…which is not entirely without some justification,” he added.
“…But, to me, a number of events happened that showed why it’s important for the average person to get involved, pay more attention to foreign policy…and some of those events, if you look, were the Covid,” he added.
Referring to India’s outreach to friendly neighbours and global partners amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the External Affairs Minister highlighted the unprecedented solidarity demonstrated during that time, illustrating how the world chose not to “leave you alone” during such challenging circumstances.
“Covid showed that if you were a person in some remote part of India, with absolutely no interest in the world. The world had decided to not leave you alone, the world actually entered your doorstep, so the idea that there is a world, and there is a home…it is necessary for us to put that behind us,” the EAM said.
Big bullies dont provide USD 4.5 billion to neighbours :Amitabh Bachchan praised S Jaishankar’s statement on Maldives dispute
For some time now, there has been a continuous rift between Maldives and India regarding tourism. Maldives alleged that India is trying to bully the subcontinent. Now recently, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar gave a befitting reply to India being called a scoundrel, which was also praised by Amitabh Bachchan.
WAH .. !!! well said Sir .. https://t.co/EE72lu0Ml5
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) March 4, 2024
Amitabh Bachchan is a celebrity who is active on social media. Sometimes on blog, sometimes on X, Big B expresses his views. Now he has praised Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on the Maldives dispute.
Maldives had alleged that India was trying to bully the subcontinent.
S Jaishankar recently gave a befitting reply to this allegation during the promotion of his book Why India Matters. The statement of the Foreign Minister greatly impressed Amitabh Bachchan. Impressed by S Jaishankar’s words, Big B praised him by posting his video on X.