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Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera dodged questions on boycotting Turkey and Azerbaijan over their support to Pakistan, prompting criticism from BJP’s Amit Malviya.
Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera pass mic to each other during a press conference (Video screengrabs/@amitmalviya)
Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera were seen passing the mic to each other during a press conference of the party, when they were questioned about boycotting Turkey and Azerbaijan over their support to Pakistan.
In the end, Khera told the media that the party would soon get back to them on the question.
A video of Ramesh and Khera’s ‘pass the ball’ was shared by Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya, who accused the Congress party of being unable to align itself with the broader sentiment of Indians.
Malviya also wrote that the Congress party deserves political oblivion and complete isolation.
“The country is enraged by the support Turkey and Azerbaijan have extended to the terror state of Pakistan. There has been a growing call to boycott trade and tourism with these countries, and private citizens have stood up in solidarity. But the Congress party can’t even bring itself to align with the broader sentiment of the Indian people. No wonder it remains so disconnected from the public. It deserves its political oblivion and complete isolation,” Malviya wrote on X.
The country is enraged by the support Turkey and Azerbaijan have extended to the terror state of Pakistan. There has been a growing call to boycott trade and tourism with these countries, and private citizens have stood up in solidarity. But the Congress party can’t even bring… pic.twitter.com/7mLeYMtA1w— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) May 14, 2025
Later, Ramesh and Khera hit back at the BJP, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar should clarify the government’s stance on Turkey and Azerbaijan, and not the Opposition.
Also quoting Malviya’s X post, Pawan Khera wrote, “Since this question is being raised by an office bearer of the BJP, the Prime Minister’s Office and S Jaishankar should immediately clarify if the government of India has snapped all diplomatic & trade relations with Turkey and has also shut their embassy in India.”
“The decision on whether or not to have relationship with any country has to be taken by the govt and not the opposition. MEA kindly clarify,” Khera wrote.
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Quoting Khera’s response to Malviya, Ramesh said, “In the same vein, Prime Minister’s Office and S Jaishankar should also clarify why the Modi Government has pursued normalisation with China despite its continued encroachment on Indian territory – or indeed why the PM lied to the people of India and irrevocably hurt national interests on June 19th, 2020 by giving China a public clean chit for its encroachments.”
This comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following their four-day military confrontation. The conflict saw Pakistan unleash swarms of Turkish drones to target Indian military facilities.
Various online booking platforms also announced the suspension of new travel offerings to countries, including Turkey and Azerbaijan for their “support” to Pakistan and advised customers to avoid “non-essential” travel to these destinations, while urging Indians to exercise “utmost caution” before planning trips to sensitive regions.
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