Under PM Modi, India does not shy away from taking stand: Nadda

NEW DELHI: BJP president J P Nadda said on Wednesday that India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership does not shy away from taking a stand on complex issues, asserting that he has changed the way the country is looked at globally.

Releasing the book, ''Modi: Shaping a Global Order in Flux'', Nadda cited India's stand on the Russia-Ukraine war as a classic example of this. India took a stand which may not be acceptable to all countries but is being appreciated by all that the country has taken a stand and stayed with it, he said.

''Unlike the past, India now does not shy from taking positions. For a long time, India has been shying from taking hard positions. Under Prime Minister Modi, India on international issues would take a stand on complex issues, that too from positions of strength,'' he said. Indian government leaders earlier did not ''dare'' to visit Israel due to domestic vote bank politics while Modi changed it, he said.

''The domestic vote bank politics compelled, and India couldn't develop a relationship with Israel,'' he said, adding that the prime minister visited Israel as well as Palestine. This shows India is capable of handling two different countries in the best possible manner, the BJP president said.

Modi has also succeeded in de-hyphenating India with Pakistan which was not the case earlier, he said. India is now seen as much ahead of Pakistan internationally and the neighbouring country is isolated on the issue of terrorism, he claimed.

Relatively less is written on Prime Minister Modi's contribution in changing how India is looked globally, and this book will start a debate, he said.

Nadda said, ''It is necessary to understand what was the image of India before Modi ji came to power. The economy was declining, India had an image of a corrupt state, repeated terrorist attacks and a lack of stable government. The very sad part was that the authority of the PM was eroded.'' Modi took over in difficult times and has navigated foreign affairs and international relationships in the best possible manner, he said, crediting him for changing the country's image internationally.

The prime minister visited around 60 countries and he undertook over 100 overseas journeys, he said, adding that he strengthened India's ties with old allies and started new partnerships as well.

Modi visited practically all neighbouring countries and strengthened the relationships, he said.

While India had good ties with countries like the UAE, Sri Lanka and Nepal, efforts were not made by previous dispensations to further strengthen them, something Modi did, he said. The prime minister's tough decisions like surgical strikes, which targeted terror camps in Pakistan, were appreciated globally, Nadda added.

The book gives a deep insights into how the way India is looked at globally has changed, the BJP president said. The prime minister also pursued India's civilisational credo of ''Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam'' (world is one family) as India rushed to help other countries facing humanitarian crisis, he added.

India has also been playing a more effective role in multilateral forums, he said, noting that it is now chairing G20. It has also taken a lead on environmental issues.

BJP's foreign department in-charge Vijay Chauthaiwale, one of the editors of the book, said the Modi government has had many achievements on the foreign policy front. The biggest of them has been the ''democratisation'' of foreign policy, with the common man now also talking about India's successes in the field, he said.