Analysts say Ramesh’s frank talk is “inappropriate” for a member of the council of ministers and reminiscent of former junior minister Shashi Tharoor’s style of functioning.
In what is being perceived as a major breach of protocol, minister of state for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh has made critical remarks on two important Indian ministries on foreign soil.
Ramesh hit out at home and defence ministry officials calling them “alarmist” and “paranoid” about China on Saturday.
He was speaking to Indian reporters in Beijing after attending an international conference on climate change. The ministries in question are headed by Congress stalwarts P Chidambaram and AK Antony, respectively.
“Both the prime minister and the national security advisor (NSA) were gung-ho about preserving the Copenhagen spirit of friendship with China, but it was the home ministry that put up roadblocks with its suspicious attitude,” Ramesh told reporters.
While ministers sniping at one another and turf war between government departments are fairly common in India, what has come as shock to many in the establishment is that the minister was speaking against the government which he represented in the conference on “foreign soil”.
Analysts say Ramesh’s frank talk is “inappropriate” for a member of the council of ministers and reminiscent of former junior minister Shashi Tharoor’s style of functioning.
Tharoor, known for liberally airing his views on government policies and his irreverence to official decorum, had to resign amid the controversy over the Kochi franchise of the Indian Premier League.
“This is a major breach of protocol,” said retired cabinet secretary and former ambassador to the US Naresh Chandra. Ramesh has erred on three counts, Chandra points out.
“The first is collective responsibility. Ministers cannot publicly criticise their colleagues even in India.
There are differences within governments but the unwritten code of conduct is to ensure that they remain within the establishment,” he said. “The second mistake was to air his views on foreign soil.
That is a strict no-no. Thirdly, he was speaking about an issue which concerns the country he is visiting. That is completely unacceptable.”
He said responsible ministers must exercise restraint. Ramesh should also be aware of the problems that have been aggravated by China issuing stapled visas to our nationals from Kashmir.
The prime minister’s office (PMO) was tight-lipped on the issue, saying it cannot go by media reports. Officials at the PMO said they will find out what was said. External affairs minister SM Krishna could not be contacted.
The Congress refused to comment but party sources admitted privately that “it is unbecoming of a minister to criticise issues of government policy not just during official visits abroad, but also publicly even within the country”. “This is a democratic set-up and divergent views can be discussed at a different level within the government framework. It is not right to do so abroad,” a senior Congressman said on the condition of anonymity.
At the news conference, Ramesh also batted for Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei Technologies. A massive tug-of-war is on within the government over allowing the Chinese company, said to having links with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), from supplying equipment to the telecom sector on the grounds that Huawei may misuse its position and put micro chips, which would make it easy for the Chinese to spy on India.
New Delhi has not made up its mind on this and top officials of the company are flying down to meet Indian officials next week.
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