Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said on Monday that India has to be firm and responsible in its foreign relations, in its journey towards becoming a global power.
Asking people to get over the obsession with Pakistan, he said, “We must not agree to postures of war, but have to be firm and responsible.”
Speaking at a function to mark the National Investigation Agency’s foundation day, the Minister said India was considered a symbol of peace the world over. Praising the NIA for its impeccable investigations, Mr. Rijiju said the apprehension that central agencies like it would undermine the country’s federal structure was ill-founded.
Delivering the second R.V. Raju Memorial Lecture on “Pakistan and Neighbourhood: A Hawkish Agenda”, eminent journalist and author Shekhar Gupta said India’s foreign policy should not be guided merely by a “hawkish” or “dovish” framework, but by its strength as a democracy, its intellectual capital and astute use of military power.
“We can have a good influence on our neighbours, we can have a bad influence on our neighbours. Neighbours always look up to us.” Peaceful change of governments in India was a process our neighbours could emulate, he said.
