NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday strongly condemned comments made by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent five-nation tour, labeling them “irresponsible and regrettable.”
Without directly naming Mann, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal criticized the remarks, stating they “do not behove the position of a high state authority.”
"We have seen some comments made by a high state authority about India's relations with friendly countries from the Global South. These remarks are irresponsible and regrettable and do not behove a state authority," he said, responding to media queries on Mann's remarks.
He added that the Government of India “disassociates itself from such unwarranted comments that undermine India’s ties with friendly countries.”
Jaiswal underscored the significance of the Prime Minister’s foreign engagements, emphasizing that they play a crucial role in strengthening bilateral relationships and advancing national interests on the global stage.
The rebuke came hours after Mann made a sarcastic comment questioning the utility of the prime minister’s overseas visits, triggering backlash from BJP leaders and drawing concern from diplomatic circles.
Mann, addressing a media briefing, took potshots at Modi, alleging that he does not stay in a "country with 140 crore people", but tours "countries where the population is 10,000."
"Pradhan Mantri ji has gone to Ghana? Has he come back from Ghana? Will he come back today? He will be welcomed upon his return in the country. Do not know which countries Magneshia, Galveshia, Tarveshia he has been visiting. (But) he is not staying in the country where 140 crore people live. The countries which he is visiting have a population of 10,000. And he got the biggest award there. Over here, 10,000 people gather to watch the JCB machine (earth moving machine)," he said.
"JCB chal rahi hai, JCB oye," said Mann as he referred to the large crowd which a JCB machine attracts when it is in operation.
"He has not held a single press conference in 11 years," he further said while taking pot shots at the prime minister.