Rahul Gandhi calls Jaishankar ‘employee’ of US Secretary of State Rubio
Congress questions announcement of ministerial meeting by US ambassador
New Delhi: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has mocked Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, calling him an “employee” of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the US ambassador announced that the two would meet in Mumbai next week.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Rahul Gandhi made the remarks in a post on X, saying, “Mr Rubio has summoned his employee to Mumbai. Modi ji, your officials in the External Affairs Ministry are confused about what’s going on. You might want to explain. Unless, of course, you want me to.” Rubio is visiting India from October 17 to October 22, 2026.
The Congress leader’s comment was an apparent reference to remarks by US ambassador Sergio Gor at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum. At the event, Gor said on Thursday that Rubio would meet Indian government officials in Mumbai and that “we expect that minister Dr S Jaishankar will be there”.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh was quick to point out the unusual announcement about an Indian minister’s meeting coming from a foreign official rather than the spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
“Since when has the announcement of India’s Minister of External Affairs’s meetings within India been outsourced to somebody other than the official spokesperson of the MEA?” Ramesh asked.
While Ramesh said that it was not surprising for Gor to talk about Rubio’s visit to India, it is “extraordinary” that the announcement of the minister’s meeting was outsourced. He linked the episode to US President Donald Trump’s announcement of the end of Operation Sindoor before India made its own announcement.
“India gets to know from the US Ambassador just as it first got to know from Mr. Rubio himself on the evening of May 10, 2025 that Operation Sindoor had been halted. Why is the MEA silent on the External Affairs Minister’s tryst with Mr. Rubio in Mumbai?” Ramesh asked.
Another Congress leader Pawan Khera said it was the ambassador who confirmed that Rubio was skipping Delhi and “has summoned EAM to Mumbai instead”, calling it a new low for the government.
