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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that Union ministers do attend events organised by ‘Overseas Friends of the BJP’, a group affiliated to the party, while on official foreign trips, as meeting members of the diaspora is a part of “our tradition”.
Replying to a question by Congress MP Syed Nasir Hussain during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Jaishankar said Union ministers had made 220 foreign visits from 2020 till November this year. He was then asked by Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale if the ministers attended events and meetings of the Overseas Friends of the BJP.
“I am very confident that many ministers would have attended such functions. I have myself done so. And the reason why we have done so is, when we go abroad, we meet members of the Indian community. It is part of our tradition. The (Narendra Modi) Modi government values the Indian diaspora. We know that they make an enormous contribution to the image and to the profile that India has today,” Jaishankar replied.
He said the government treated all members of the diaspora with respect. “If members of the community happen to belong to a political party or have political affiliations, that is a fact of life. Primary purpose for which ministers go is official business. Ministers discharge their official responsibility fully satisfactorily and it is visible in the results of the foreign policy,” he said.
In his written reply to Hussain’s question, the minister said the visits were a means to foster closer ties with other countries and serve national interest. His reply also stated that 101 memoranda of understanding had been signed with different countries from 2020 till now.
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