India at par with US, China because of PM Narendra Modi: S M Krishna

Bengaluru: Former Congress leader S M Krishna, who joined the BJP on Wednesday, showered fulsome praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, saying India is at par with superpowers like the US and China because of his programmes.

“Modiji has given new status to India … Today, India is on par with superpowers like United States, France, Russia and China. This has been possible because of the various programmes PM Narendra Modi has started,” he told BJP workers at the state’s party headquarters in Delhi.

The former external affairs minister said he was “impressed with (PM) Modi’s courage to carry out surgical strikes”. “During my tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan never understood the kind of language we spoke. Look at the turnaround after surgical strikes. (PM) Modi’s step was hailed across the world as bold and courageous,” he said.

“Modiji answered Pakistan in the language it understands. I had the privilege to meet him and he was kind enough to explain the contours of surgical strikes.

“I was impressed and this was possible only because of a leader who had guts, a vision and a strategy. Today, India has become very bold in the eyes of other countries,” he said.

Mr Krishna also praised PM Modi’s demonetisation decision, saying that though it has not eradicated black money menace entirely, but has curtailed it.

“Demonetisation is one of the biggest economic makeover that Prime Minister thought necessary to be implemented. The black money menace has been a great curse. It was eating into the very vitals of the economy. Even though it cannot be eradicated overnight but it certainly curtailed the menace. As a Congressman, I had welcomed it,” he said.

He said he quit Congress because of bad treatment and the “mental torture” the party gave him.

“I was treated badly. All of a sudden, they dropped me from the cabinet. This is not the way you treat a veteran,” he said.

Mr Krishna said he had been thinking of quitting Congress for nearly two years and thereafter he met Amit Shah, the national BJP President, which answered all his queries.

 Earlier, Mr Krishna was welcomed at Bengaluru International Airport and taken to the party office situated at Malleshwaram in a rally.

At the party office, he was welcomed by State BJP President B S Yeddyurappa and R Ashok among others. The former Congress leader was welcomed amid the chanting of Ganapati Mantra.