Lok Sabha MPs on Tuesday received an addition to any reading list they may have after Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommended they read ‘JFK’s Forgotten Crisis‘, US foreign policy expert Bruce Reidel’s book on political and diplomatic emergencies during John F Kennedy’s presidency.
The suggestion came as Mr Modi aimed a dig – invoking ex-PM Jawaharlal Nehru, a frequent target of BJP attacks – at critics of his government’s handling of the China border row, and followed questions by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi yesterday and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav earlier today.
The book, he declared, revealed “what games” Mr Nehru had played with the country’s security.
“If someone is really interested in foreign policy… they should read ‘JFK’s Forgotten Crisis’,” Mr Modi said during his speech on the Motion of Thanks to President Droupadi Murmu’s address last week.
“This book was written by a foreign policy scholar (and) in it there is a mention of India’s first PM, who also held the Foreign Affairs portfolio. It had his conversation with JFK when the country was dealing with a crisis situation… the book details what games were played in the name of foreign policy…”
The recommendation, though, was questioned by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
“I could not understand why the Prime Minister mentioned this book… what did it have to do with the discussion on the President’s speech?” a puzzled Mr Tharoor told NDTV.
“I read Riedel’s book seven years ago. It said that when there was a war between India and China, in 1962, the US secretly helped us. It also said we had asked for help… and said our situation (in the war) was not good,” he said.
On Tuesday Mr Gandhi had questioned the government over reports India had surrendered over 4,000 sq km of its territory to China. “The PM denied it but the Army contradicted him… China is sitting on 4,000 sq km of our territory…” the Congress leader said in the House, prompting immediate protests and, a day later, a firm rebuttal by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
READ | “Words Never Spoken”: Rajnath Singh Trashes China Claim
The Prime Minister’s ‘homework’ for opposition MPs came amid a fierce and wide-ranging attack on his political rivals, beginning with the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress, his Bharatiya Janata Party’s direct opponents for Wednesday’s Delhi Assembly election.
These attacks included references to allegations AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal spent Rs 45 crore of taxpayers’ money on luxury renovations to the bungalow he occupied as Chief Minister.
READ | “Focus On Jacuzzi, Jhuggi Photo Ops”: PM Slams Opposition
Mr Modi also slammed the Congress over its ‘garibi hatao‘, or ‘eliminate poverty’, slogan, arguing the party had failed to deliver on its promise despite decades of power. By contrast his government, the Prime Minister claimed, had helped 25 crore people out of poverty in 10 years alone.
NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.
