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Rahul Gandhi's jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, allegedly claiming that the PM was losing his memory like US President Joe Biden, has drawn a sharp response from the Ministry of External Affairs, which has termed the remark unfortunate and said it is "not in keeping with" India's warm ties with the United States.
During the weekly briefing on Friday, a reporter asked Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal about the remark by Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
"India shares a multi-faceted partnership with the United States. This partnership has been built over years of perseverance, togetherness, mutual respect and commitment by both sides. We see such remarks as unfortunate and they are not in keeping with the warm and friendly ties with the United States and do not represent the position of the government of India," Mr Jaiswal replied.
Addressing a poll rally in Maharashtra's Amravati earlier this month, Mr Gandhi had said PM Modi appeared to be suffering "memory loss" like the "former President" of the US - an apparent reference to Mr Biden, who is the outgoing president.
Mr Gandhi's remarks had also been criticised by a group of medical practitioners, which had said they suggested a lack of sensitivity.
In a letter to Mr Gandhi's mother and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, President of the National Medicos Organisation Bharat (NMO-Bharat) CB Tripathi had said the Congress leader's comments perpetuate harmful stereotypes about ageing and cognitive health.
"Such statements on a public platform risk perpetuating misinformation, potentially shaping public perceptions in ways that could negatively impact the understanding and treatment of actual patients... It is disappointing to see Rahul Gandhi comment so crudely about a foreign head of state who is much senior and older than him. This flies right in the face of our Indian ethos of respecting our elders. Such remarks are unbecoming of a leader of the opposition and suggest a lack of understanding and sensitivity," Mr Tripathi wrote.
(With PTI inputs)