Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said it was a matter of pride that India has got the G20 presidency and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to leverage this opportunity for the country's benefit and help deter China from carrying out incursions at the border and correct the trade imbalance with it. Speaking at an all-party meeting convened by the prime minister on G20 presidency, Kharge asked him to use this opportunity to help the country secure a permanent seat in the UN Security Council and play a key role in helping nations come out the debt crisis as his predecessor, Manmohan Singh, had done during the 2008 economic crisis, sources said.
He also said India should raise the issue of some nations providing support to terrorism and the prime minister should use this occasion to seek support of other nations to act against such countries. The sources said Kharge hoped Modi would use his influence to deter China and help stop the incursions carried out by it in Indian territory, besides putting an end to the trade imbalance between the two countries.
On Indian's stand vis-a-vis the Ukraine war, he told the prime minister to continue efforts to maintain peace and help create an environment where no war-like situation is created again. Congratulating Prime Minister Modi over India's G20 presidency, the Congress chief said it is a matter of pride for the country and G20 leaders will be able to see the country and the progress carried out in the last 75 years. He also cited the example of India hosting the Non Aligned Summit in 1983 in which nearly 100 nations participated and later the same year it hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) summit where leaders of 42 countries took part.
He also recalled the words of former US president Barack Obama about Manmohan Singh showing the world the way forward during the 2008 economic crisis that gripped the world. The Congress president told the meeting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said 53 nations are going through a debt crisis and hoped that India shows the path forward in helping these countries come out of the crisis. Sources said Kharge also asked Modi to help create a system that could aid repatriation of fugitives who escaped to other countries after committing economic frauds in India.
He said that India and the prime minister should also use this opportunity to leverage itself and get compensation from rich nations based on the COP27 agreement for damage caused to the environment. Kharge also asked the prime minister to use this opportunity to talk to the United States for finding a permanent solution to the problem of US visas for Indians as the waiting period for getting a US visa has touched 900 days currently. He called upon the prime minister to use the occasion for getting more investment into the country, help fully harness the tourism potential and ensure security of NRIs and students studying abroad.
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