New Delhi: Questioning Narendra Modi's foreign tours, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday wondered if it behoved the Prime Minister to visit individual companies like Google and Facebook to seek investment, even as AAP said PM's travels have not brought any concrete outcome and claimed FDI was dwindling.
As Modi wrapped up his two-nation tour of Ireland and the US, Kejriwal asked what the country had achieved from the PM's foreign trips and took a dig at his engagements at Facebook headquarters and Google campus among others.
"PM Modi's US trip ends. Time to ponder what has country achieved from his foreign trips so far? Does it suit the stature of an Indian PM to visit individual cos seeking investments?" the Chief Minister said in a series of tweets.
Separately, the AAP said that "the real issue is how the PM projects himself at foreign countries. He presents factually incorrect statements and also targets the country's core fabric by attacking secularism".
Kejriwal, who has been targeting Modi's flagship 'Make in India' project with his 'Make India' pitch, stressed that the country should first focus on infrastructure development. That would itself attract investment, he said.
"For instance, Chinese first built China and then all corporate giants vied to invest in China. So, let's first Make India. If we make India strong, investments will come at our terms, else investors will dictate terms," he said.
At a press conference AAP leaders Dilip Pandey and Ashutosh also contrasted the reception accorded to Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping saying the latter had the likes of Zuckerberg flying in to meet him.
Ashutosh said that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) had come down in the country despite Modi's 'Make in India' pitch. The idea behind targeting the Prime Minister was to make him "accountable" to the public, he said. AAP was trying to present an alternative in the "petty squabbles" between BJP and Congress, he said.
"PM's foreign trip has raised serious questions which need to be debated. But Congress and BJP are up to petty fights instead of focusing on policies and issues of national interest. Modi is fooling the country," Ashutosh said.
The party advised the government to invest in four sectors namely education, health, law and order, infrastructure and to bring reforms in the justice system instead of talking to "(Mark) Zuckerberg and (Sundar) Pichai".
The party's Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey scoffed at BJP's accusations that AAP was practising negative politics. Anyone questioning the PM becomes negative, he said. Pandey said the real issue was how the PM projects himself in foreign countries.
BJP reacted sharply to Kejriwal's attack on the Prime Minister, terming him a victim of "frustration" and describing his remarks as an attempt to remain in news. "Arvind Kejriwal is passing through a frustration phase as dismal performance and corrupt deeds of AAP MLAs have disconnected him from the masses," Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said.
Upadhyay also advised Kejriwal to have a grip over foreign policy before commenting on issues concerning Modi's foreign visits. "It will be better for Kejriwal if he understands the nitty-gritties of foreign policy before speaking on them. The country is proud of Modiji's work for the upliftment of poor on one hand and developing economy on the other. Our foreign policy today is at its best ever," he said.
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