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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar performed Ganga puja at Varanasi's Dashashwamedh Ghat on Saturday.
Jaishankar, who is in Varanasi, attended the Ganga aarti and performed puja. Earlier, EAM Jaishankar inspected Kashi Tamil Sangamam Exhibition at the Banaras Hindu University's (BHU) amphitheatre and while addressing students, announced that Varanasi will host the G20 development ministers' meeting. Jaishankar said, "Kashi is one of the important venues for the G20 meetings. And one of the meetings, the development ministers' meeting that I will chair, will be held here." "So you will be more likely to see me on the streets of Varanasi," he added. Jaishankar further said India has become more dominant, regionally. Earlier, the world used to see India and Pakistan on equal terms but not anymore, not even Pakistan, the EAM said, adding that India came out in the region as the primary power.Jaishankar further stated that the whole set of institutions, ideas and campaigns are coming out of India. "When the world looks at the rise of India, for them the contribution and successes of the diaspora are part of the story of the rise of India. So, we too have a responsibility. If so many Indians live abroad, it's our duty to look after it (the diaspora)," the EAM said. While interacting with the students at the BHU, Jaishankar gave a stern message to Pakistan, which supports terrorism, saying that the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is not active because one of the members believes that dealing with the neighbour is compatible with cross-border terrorism. Responding to a question about India being inactive with other SAARC members, without mentioning Pakistan, Jaishankar said, "I don't think we are isolated from the SAARC. Why SAARC currently is not active because one member of the SAARC believes that dealing with neighbours is compatible with the factors of cross-border terrorism. "Notably, the SAARC is the regional intergovernmental organization of eight countries of South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He also said that India's relations with Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka are strong and have grown "stronger" in five years. EAM Jaishankar also said that trade, investments and cooperation have also increased. "The problem with this is how to deal with somebody in the room who is standing with you... and by the end of the day sending people with drugs and that is the problem," Jaishankar added. (ANI)
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