Former Foreign Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Wednesday, 28 October sharply condemned the Congress party for selectively portraying his recent conversation with former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and accused the party of spreading a 'false narrative' to mislead the Indian public. Shringla, also a former Indian Ambassador to the United States, made the remarks in a detailed post on X.

The Rudd Conversation and What Was Said

Shringla had earlier this month held a wide-ranging discussion with Kevin Rudd — a leading expert on foreign policy — at an event organised by the Asia Society Policy Institute in New Delhi. Topics ranged from Asia's geopolitical future and India's national and international priorities to relations with key partners.

During the conversation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP spotlighted that, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India's foreign policy is guided by strategic autonomy and a nation-first approach. He stated that when the issue of possible US sanctions against India over the purchase of Russian oil arose, he placed the matter in historical context — referencing the US withdrawal of exemptions for Iranian oil purchases in 2019 for countries including India and China, and a similar situation involving Venezuela.

'It was the energy security of one and a half billion people that was of paramount importance to the government... all decisions taken in this regard would be based on national interest and a nation-first approach. This has been the policy since 2014,' Shringla stated in his X post.

Shringla's Accusation Against Congress

Shringla alleged that what he described as a 'very, very positive conversation' — appreciated by domestic and international audiences — was selectively excerpted by the Congress to convey a 'false impression' at the public level.

'My advice to Congress stooges who put all this out is to stop using false narratives... a loser in democracy can never be a winner with false narratives,' he said in his post, adding that the party was displaying 'political bankruptcy' and a 'pathetic inability to win the people's ballot.'

Historical Allegations: Nuclear Programme and 26/11

Shringla went further, alleging that the Congress party has a documented history of yielding to external — particularly American — pressure on matters of vital national interest. He cited two specific instances: the alleged halting of India's missile and nuclear programme in 1994 under pressure from then-US President Bill Clinton, and the abrupt cancellation of planned nuclear tests in December 1995, again reportedly under US pressure.

'It took the BJP's first Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to undertake these nuclear tests in 1998 and make India the proud and responsible nuclear power we are today,' he said.

He also invoked the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, alleging that the then-UPA government refrained from any military response after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited New Delhi and reportedly urged restraint. 'This was a national shame that we haven't gotten over even today,' Shringla said, contrasting it with what he described as the 'bold response' of Prime Minister Modi to Pakistani terrorist provocations.

The Broader Political Context

The BJP MP's remarks come amid ongoing political contestation over India's foreign policy positioning, particularly its continued purchase of discounted Russian crude oil following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Shringla's framing — that energy security for 1.5 billion people takes precedence over external pressure — aligns with the government's established public posture on the issue.

He also referenced what he called Congress's 'false narratives' on Arunachal Pradesh and the Special Investigation Report (SIR), arguing that a party that has 'consistently succumbed to external pressure on vital issues of national interest' has 'little ground' to question India's commitment to strategic autonomy.

Congress has not issued an immediate formal response to Shringla's remarks. The dispute is likely to intensify political debate over India's foreign policy record and the current government's handling of the Russia-Ukraine energy dilemma.