President Barack Obama, PM Narendra Modi joint editorial, an exercise in diplomatic language, says CPI's D Raja

While welcoming the bylined joint editorial in the Washington Post of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama, Communist Party of India leader D Raja on Tuesday labelled it a diplomatic language exercise, and said he did have a problem with its content.

"People will appreciate and welcome the joint editorial, but it is the content and substance of the editorial that we must assess. The United States talked about justice and equality. It's a diplomatic language, " Raja told ANI.

Referring to the part of the editorial where both President Obama and Prime Minister referred to the perceived advantages of joint military exercises by both nations, Raja asked whether the holding of such exercises is good for India or in the larger context for the rest of the world.

He said that he was of the opinion that promotion of military and defence ties "is part of a desire to promote private (defence) sector" of the United States.

In this context, he made a reference to the ongoing war in Afghanistan, where, US-led NATO troops are in the process of a drawdown of military operations after spending 14 years attempting to fight off the Taliban and Al Qaeda remnants.

"What is happening in Afghanistan? That, the United States needs to explain it," Raja said.

The CPI leader sought to establish a similarity between former NDA Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee starting the relationship between the United States and India and what President Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are emphasizing through their joint editorial – that of doing "business for marketing".

"The emphasis which they give business for marketing; this I want to understand," Raja said.