"It Was Not For Party But...": Congress' Salman Khurshid On 'Patriotic' Remark

Days after his cryptic post asking if it is "so difficult to be patriotic" triggered speculation, Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Thursday clarified that it was not directed at his party but at people who do not consider themselves patriotic.

Mr Khurshid, a former external affairs minister who was part of a delegation led by JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha which travelled to Malaysia after visiting Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore to convey India's stand on terrorism emanating from Pakistan, said a patriot will speak the language "we spoke abroad".

"Ask them who are not patriots. A patriot will speak the language we spoke abroad. That language was spoken by people of the BJP, by the people of CPI(M), JD(U) and all the people who were there (as part of the delegation)," he told PTI Videos.

Asked if his cryptic post was directed at his party, Mr Khurshid said, "My party sent me... why will I tweet about my party, my party sent me. My tweet was for people who do not consider themselves patriotic." 

Earlier this week, Mr Khurshid, in a post on X and without naming anyone, said, "When on mission against terrorism, to carry India's message to the world, it's distressing that people at home are calculating political allegiances. Is it so difficult to be patriotic?" 

In his remarks to PTI Videos on Thursday, Khurshid said, "The aim of our visit was largely fulfilled. Our visit will have an impact in the coming times. The response everywhere was affirmative. But there are some situations in which the response cannot be taken very seriously. For example, there was a response from diaspora on why did we leave the (Indo-Pak) war. We cannot elaborate upon the fact that what was the mission of the government, army in the war was met, and continuing the war would have cause damages. All these things cannot be explained." 

"We, however, said we will put forth their point of view in front of the government. But today we want to talk about how to take every nation with us in our fight against terrorism. Because if the terrorism stops, every nation, including India, will be successful," he said.

Mr Khurshid said he will meet the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to brief him about the delegation's visit.

"But I kept sending detailed notes to the Congress president and Rahul ji from every place, every country about what we have said and what response we have received and what to do next. The party is fully briefed," he said.

Asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks recently,Mr  Khurshid said, "I agree with Rahul Gandhi, he is my leader. Rahul ji has the right to ask questions. He is the leader of the opposition and in a democracy the leader of the opposition has to ask questions."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)