The Indian Congress party on Tuesday strongly objected to criticism from the Indian envoy to Ireland over a newspaper editorial, calling for his dismissal.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh criticized Indian Ambassador Akhilesh Mishra's response to an editorial in The Irish Times, saying that attacking opposition parties in a manner like a "party apparatchik" was "disgraceful behaviour."
In his rejoinder to The Irish Times, Mishra defended Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating Modi's popularity was due to his integrity and innovative governance. Mishra also attributed Modi's popularity to his fight against corruption, which he claimed was deeply entrenched by previous administrations.
Ramesh condemned Mishra's remarks, stating that while defending the government was expected, attacking opposition parties like a party official was unacceptable, particularly for a career diplomat. Ramesh called for Mishra's immediate dismissal, accusing him of breaching service rules.
The Indian Embassy in Ireland shared Mishra's rejoinder on X, stating - "highly biased and prejudiced editorial, casting aspersion on Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, Indian democracy, law enforcement institutions & 'Hindu-majority' people of India".
Congress leader later said in another post, "I stand corrected. This Ambassador is actually a career diplomat which makes his comments even more shameful, disgraceful and completely unacceptable. He has actually breached service rules and should be sacked right away".
"This is unprofessional and disgraceful behaviour on his part - but is par for the Modi course I guess," Ramesh said.
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