Rahul Gandhi's remarks on Meloni: MEA urges respect in public discourse, stresses India-Italy ties

New Delhi: India on Friday stressed that it shares strong ties with Italy and underlined the importance of maintaining mutual respect in public discourse.

The statement came a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi triggered a controversy with a political jibe involving Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the remarks during his bi-weekly media briefing while responding to questions about Gandhi's criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign policy and subsequent remarks by Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit.

"We have strong ties with Italy. Our ties with Italy in recent years have expanded and strengthened. It is important that as part of diplomatic practice that we strengthen our ties keeping in mind being respectful of each other," Jaiswal said.

Gandhi targets Modi's foreign policy

The controversy began at an event on Thursday evening, where Gandhi criticised Modi's handling of foreign policy.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said he believed the Prime Minister's approach to foreign policy was centred on hugging foreign leaders.

Gandhi said this perception appeared to have become ingrained in Modi's thinking.

He then hugged Dikshit to illustrate what he described as the current government's approach to foreign policy.

"Imagine the ignorance... where did he get the idea that foreign policy was about hugging leaders," Gandhi said.

Dikshit's remark on Meloni

Dikshit then joined in with a remark referring to Meloni.

"Ek cheez pooch sakta hoon? Meloni samajh ke toh nahi pakda tha?" Dikshit asked Gandhi.

Gandhi responded: "I have not reached there yet."

BJP attacks Congress leaders

The exchange drew a sharp response from the BJP, which criticised both Gandhi and Dikshit over their remarks.

The controversy has also prompted the External Affairs Ministry to reiterate the importance of maintaining respect in public discourse while dealing with India's foreign partners.