Rajiv Gandhi compromised nuclear doctrine', BJP targets Congress; Both parties clash over FDI too

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's warning to Pakistan of 'no nuclear blackmail', BJP accused Congress of compromising the country's nuclear interests. BJP leader Amit Malviya slammed Congress for 'prioritizing its own views over national security'.

He criticized former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's 'weak foreign policy and misplaced faith in goodwill diplomacy', which put India in an uncomfortable position three decades ago. Malviya, in-charge of BJP's IT cell, said in an internet media post on Sunday, 'Strong leadership means protecting sovereignty, not exposing weaknesses.'

Rajiv Gandhi criticized

He said, 'In 1988, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signed an agreement with Pakistan's PM Benazir Bhutto, which compromised India's nuclear doctrine.' Sharing a photo of former PM Rajiv Gandhi and Bhutto, Malviya said, "The Indo-Pak nuclear deal (formally titled Agreement for the Prevention of Attacks on Nuclear Installations and Facilities) was signed on December 31, 1988."

"Under this agreement, India and Pakistan exchange a list of all nuclear installations every year. The aim is to prevent surprise attacks and reduce nuclear risks. This decision was taken due to a weak foreign policy and misplaced faith in goodwill diplomacy, which was at the cost of India's strategic and national security interests," he said.

'Ignorance on net FDI exposed'
The Congress and the BJP continued to blame each other on economic issues, with the Congress alleging a fall in foreign direct investment and the BJP attacking the opposition party's 'net FDI' and 'ignorance'. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, accusing the government of a decline in foreign direct investment, wrote on Internet Media X, "Recently released RBI data shows that net FDI inflows into India in 2024/25 have fallen by an unprecedented 96 percent to just $ 0.4 billion."

To this, BJP IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya hit back, saying, "Today, foreign capital is betting on India's future. The opposition and its supporters' unwavering grip on 'net FDI' is not only economically misleading. It either reflects ignorance or deliberately distorts the facts."

Malviya said, "India's total FDI inflows are $ 81 billion in FY25 - up 14 percent year-on-year despite global economic uncertainty and monetary tightening in the West."