Washington / New Delhi ∙ India’s response to former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who downgraded former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, has been harsh. External Affairs Minister S. Jayashankar condemned Pompeo’s words. In his book ‘Never Give An Inch: Fighting for the America I Love’, Pompeo disparages Sushma Swaraj and praises Jaishankar, who later took over. Pompeo says that Sushma was not a ‘key figure’ in the foreign affairs talks and that Ajit Doval, the prime minister’s security adviser and confidant, was the real partner. Was not on good terms with Sushma who was politically biased.
After Doval, he had a good relationship with S. Jayashankar, who was then Foreign Secretary. I like him. Jaishankar, who speaks 7 languages including English, became the External Affairs Minister in 2019. He is smarter than me in many ways – says Pompeo. “I saw a passage in Pompeo’s book that mentions Sushma Swaraj. I had respect and a warm relationship with Sushma Swaraj. We condemn the practice against them’ – said Jayashankar.
Sushma Swaraj, who was the External Affairs Minister in the Narendra Modi government from 2014 to 2019, passed away in August 2019. In the book, Pompeo also claimed that Sushma Swaraj had informed Pakistan that Pakistan was planning a nuclear attack after India’s Balakot lightning strike in response to the Pulwama terror attack. When this was reported to the Pakistan Army Chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the reply was that it was not true. Pompeo claims that he and his team succeeded in resolving the crisis in February 2019 by bringing India and Pakistan together. However, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has not responded to this.
English Summary: India slams mike pompeo for his statement against Sushma Swaraj