"Does India no longer have right to act in its own interest?" Salman Khurshid slams Centre over US' waiver permitting Russian oil purchase

New Delhi [India], March 6 (ANI): Amid the mounting chaos over the 30-day waiver by the US permitting India to buy Russian Oil, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday said the foreign policy and diplomatic efforts adopted by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has not brought any results, and questioned whether the country had the right to act in its own interest.
He said it was "very dangerous" that India was being granted permission on what actions it can take.
"It is very dangerous, that from time to time we will grant you permission on what you can do and what you cannot do. Has India's condition now become such that it would act only with the permission of others? Does India no longer have the right to act in its own interest? This is a question. There should be a discussion on this," Khurshid told ANI.
Taking a jibe, the senior Congress leader said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) government at the Centre doesn't know its own foreign policy, and there was no visible outcome of the diplomatic efforts.
"We can't comment on the government's (foreign) policy when the government itself doesn't even know its policy. We couldn't learn about the government's policy till now. You (the media) tell us that they (the Government) spoke at Raisina or spoke somewhere else over the phone. Good that they spoke, but what is the result? The outcome is not visible, is it?" Khurshid said.
"One can only support or oppose foreign policy when there are results. However, what is the outcome of this? The outcome (of diplomatic efforts) and reasoning (behind it) are not understandable. We are not told about steps that are taken (by the govt), what comment can we make on that?" he added.
Speaking on the US attack on the unarmed Iranian warship IRIS Dena, which killed 87 sailors in the Indian Ocean, Khurshid said, "What is our status or existence if America attacks Iran, whom we call a friend, right near our home, and didn't even inform us? If they (US) did inform us, it becomes a matter of even greater distress."
The Congress leader was speaking after a party delegation visited the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi to condole the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by the US-Israel military strike on February 28.
"The direction that Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi have shown us is the very direction we are all following. It was necessary that today, on behalf of the entire Congress, we stand with those people who have been our companions and friends for years, and today is their bad time, so at this time we can stand with them. Therefore, our coming here was very necessary," Khurshid said.
Congress has taken a firm principled stand condemning the attacks launched on Iran, saying that India's ties with the Persian Gulf country were nearly 3,000 years old.
"India's ties with Persia, today's Iran, go back nearly 3000 years. We signed a Treaty of Friendship in 1950 when Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ruled Iran. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution and after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei became Supreme Leader, India continued the relationship," Congress Kerala posted on X earlier.
Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi has questioned the central government's silence on Khamenei's assassination, saying that it was not neutral.
The 30-day temporary waiver by the US Treasury Department comes at a time when India continues to face potential risks linked to energy supply disruptions in the Middle East region amid escalating tensions after the February 28 US-Israel military strike on Iran, which resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures.
India sources nearly 40 per cent of its oil imports from the region, with a significant portion transported through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. (ANI)