India Urges Respect for Italy After Congress Remarks Draw Blowback
India’s foreign ministry on Friday defended ties with Italy and called for “respectful” public discourse after a Congress leader set off a row with a
India’s foreign ministry on Friday defended ties with Italy and called for “respectful” public discourse after a Congress leader set off a row with a jibe at Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The rebuke came a day after the comment triggered fresh political noise in New Delhi.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India and Italy have “strong ties” that have grown in recent years. He stressed that diplomacy works best when both sides keep mutual respect in view. Plain words. A clear message.
Diplomatic friction after Congress attack
The controversy stems from remarks made at a Congress party event on Thursday evening, where party leader Rahul Gandhi mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy, saying it appeared to revolve around hugging leaders. Gandhi also suggested the idea had become ingrained in Modi’s approach to diplomacy. During the event, he hugged former MP Sandeep Dikshit in a gesture meant to illustrate his point.
Congress leader and former MP Sandeep Dikshit’s role in the exchange drew attention, but the wider reaction quickly shifted to Italy. The foreign ministry response made clear that New Delhi did not want a political barbs to spill over into the bilateral relationship.
MEA pushes back
At his bi-weekly media briefing, Jaiswal said India’s ties with Italy have “expanded and strengthened” in recent years. He added that maintaining respectful language matters in diplomatic practice, especially when relations are already broadening.
The ministry’s comments fit a familiar pattern in foreign policy disputes: domestic political attacks can land awkwardly when they invoke another country’s leader. Governments often move fast to prevent a passing jibe from becoming a diplomatic irritant. That is exactly what New Delhi tried to do here.
Italy has also been present in Indian diplomatic calculations more visibly in recent years, making the ministry’s emphasis on mutual respect politically and diplomatically significant. Jaiswal’s message was blunt, and it ended there: India wants stronger ties with Italy, not a public spat over a political dig at Meloni.
