Two days after criticising his junior Minister for voicing disagreement over the government’s new visa policy, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters that he alone was responsible for deciding his Ministry’s “broad policy parameters” and that everyone else must fall in line.
In an unusually strong statement, Mr. Krishna said there may be “different perceptions” but that “there is a procedure where we sort out those issues and I am sure Mr. Tharoor understands that.”
The External Affairs Minister spoke to the press just after a meeting with Mr. Tharoor, their first since the latest controversy over the Minister of State’s recent tweets on the visa issue. Official sources said Mr. Krishna conveyed the Congress party’s strong displeasure and warned him not to debate policy matters in public.
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“The broad policy parameters are dictated, decided by the Minister in charge of External Affairs of this country and everyone will follow the same page. Period,” Mr. Krishna told reporters later.