“The government has once again embarrassed the country through a diplomatic gaffe, which could best be avoided,” Congress leader Anand Sharma said with reference to the issuance of a visa to Uighur leader Dolkun Isa and its cancellation subsequently.
He said India and China have a strategic cooperative partnership. Therefore, the conduct of diplomacy demands maturity and seriousness, the Congress leader said.
“It was a considered decision (to grant Indian visa to Isa) taken by the government to grab headlines. For three days, the propaganda machinery went in overdrive to say it is a masculine response,” Sharma, a RajyaSabha MP, told reporters outside parliament here.
“It was immature to say so and now to give an explanation that it was a glitch in our electronic visa system makes India look silly and incompetent,” he said.
The Congress leader said it would be graceful on the government’s part to say that the move was an inadvertent mistake which had since been corrected.
He said the government must say the move was a mistake made inadvertently than to come out with explanations after three days of loud claims and jingoism.
“We will advise the government to be serious, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There have been repeated instances in the conduct of our diplomacy whereby India has been globally embarrassed,” the former union minister said.
