India-Italy ties strong, remarks should be respectful: Govt on Congress' 'Meloni' jibe

The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday called for restraint and respect in political remarks involving foreign leaders after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made a reference to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni while mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy.MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India has “strong ties” with Italy and wants to further strengthen the relationship, adding that any issue should be raised respectfully.“

India has strong relations with Italy. We want to further strengthen these relations. Any issue should be put forward with respect,” Jaiswal said.His remarks came a day after Gandhi took a swipe at Modi’s foreign policy at the Rachnatmak Congress National Convention, saying it appeared to have been reduced to “hugging leaders”. Gandhi demonstrated his point by hugging Rachnatmak Congress chief Sandeep Dikshit on stage.“

Imagine the ignorance... where did he get the idea that foreign policy was about hugging leaders?” Gandhi said.Dikshit then asked Gandhi, “Ek cheez pooch sakta hoon? Meloni samajh ke toh nahi pakda tha?” Gandhi replied, “I have not reached there yet.” The reference was to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The remark drew criticism from some social media users, who described it as misogynistic.GANDHI ATTACKS MODI’S FOREIGN POLICYDuring his address, Gandhi accused Modi of failing to protect India’s interests through his foreign policy and questioned the Prime Minister’s approach towards global leaders.He recalled his grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s interactions with the US and argued that Indian foreign policy should be guided by national interests rather than personal relationships with foreign leaders.“

From where, it has gone in PM (Modi’s) head that they (leaders) are my friend,” Gandhi said.Gandhi also referred to the US-Iran conflict and claimed that India could have played a role in bringing the two sides together.“ A US-Iran war broke out. In such a scenario, if there had been leadership like Indira Gandhi ji, we would have had the biggest opportunity. Because Iran is our old friend, America and Russia are also our friends, so we could have mediated friendship between them.

But Pakistan stepped in and took our place, and Narendra Modi just stood by watching,” he said.BJP HITS BACK AT RAHUL GANDHIThe BJP also attacked Gandhi over his remarks, with party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi accusing him of crossing the limits of political discourse.Trivedi said Gandhi’s “arrogance” appeared to be turning into “madness” and described his comments as “rude and indecent”.“ What Rahul Gandhi has said makes it evident that his arrogance is now turning into madness,” Trivedi said.The BJP leader also criticised Gandhi for referring to the BJP-RSS as a “bunch of jokers” and “clowns” who have no understanding of India.Gandhi, during his speech, had also attacked the RSS, alleging that it had been “captured and utilised by the large capital -- Mr Adani and Mr Ambani”.

He claimed that the RSS had originally represented sections of small Indian businesses but had since become an “instrument of large capital”.‘ WE WILL KEEP THEM AWAKE’: GANDHIGandhi also said the Congress would continue its campaign against the government until Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah resigned.“ Till the day Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah don't give their resignations, they will not be able to sleep, we will keep them awake... we will do it without hate, violence,” he said.He said the Congress was fighting for a political culture based on “love, brotherhood and ahimsa”.

Gandhi also defended the right to protest, referring to student protests at Jantar Mantar and accusing the government of trying to impose an order on people rather than allowing them to express themselves.“ Our job is to make India express itself and break that order,” he said.- EndsPublished By: Sonali VermaPublished On: Aug 14, 2026 18:40 IST