'Urge Jai to cool a little bit': Tharoor to Jaishankar

Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to "cool a little bit" criticised the West over its "bad habit" of commenting on other countries.

"I have known him for a long time and consider him as a friend but on this issue I think we need not be so thin-skinned. I think it's very important that as a government we take something in stride. If we react to every comment, we are doing ourselves a disservice. I will strongly urge my friend Jai to cool a little bit" said Tharoor.

On Sunday, during an interaction in Bengaluru, Jaishankar said that the West has had a "bad habit" for a long time, of commenting on others, and it thinks it has a "God-given right" to speak about the internal matters of other countries.

The minister was responding to a question on Germany and United States' remarks on the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a Member of Parliament.

"There are two reasons. It is because the West has had a bad habit for a long time of commenting on others. They somehow think it is some kind of God-given right. They will have to learn only by experience that if you keep doing this, other people will also start commenting and they will not like it when it happens. I see that happening," Jaishankar had said.

He said, "The second part of the truth -- in our arguments, you are inviting the people to comment on you. Then more and more people are tempted to comment. We also need to stop giving generous invitations to the world saying there are problems in India; America and Europe, why are you standing by and doing nothing?

"So if somebody from here goes and says 'why are you standing by and saying nothing', then obviously they are going to comment. Part of the problem is them, part of the problem is us. And I think both need fixing," he added.

With inputrs from PTI