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Senior Congress leader and former External Affairs Minister of India Salman Khurshid backed Senior Congress Leader P Chidambaram's caution over the outcomes of previous BRICS summits, saying his remarks should be taken in the right spirit, while calling on India to lead from the front and ensure that the upcoming summit delivers outcomes that can be taken pride in.
Speaking to ANI, Khurshid emphasised, If Chidambaram is giving a word of caution, we should take it in the right spirit. And if it's taken in the right spirit, we may have a better outcome from this summit, he said. His remarks come after Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram on Wednesday questioned the tangible benefits India has gained from recent BRICS summits, saying he had not seen any significant outcomes from the last two or three meetings. Speaking about the upcoming BRICS Summit 2026 in Delhi, Chidambaram said India is part of several multilateral groupings, including BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), G20 and QUAD, but questioned what concrete benefits the country has received from them. I don't know how many Presidents and how many Prime Ministers are coming. I don't think the last two or three BRICS summits have resulted in tangible benefits or tangible results, Chidambaram told ANI. In fact, we are part of BRICS, we are part of SCO, we are part of G20, and we are part of QUAD. What benefits are we getting out of that? I can't see. In the last two or three summits, I didn't see any benefits. Earlier, the BRICS Summits resulted in some tangible benefits, he added. Further, Salman Khurshid asserted that the BRICS Summit is asignificant event and noted that the top leadership of China, Iran, Russia, South Africa and India would be present, along with all 11 countries. He said the summit was taking place at a time when the world was churning and facing trouble, with conflict and contradiction in the world, including among people attending the BRICS Summit. This is a significant event. We hosted the G20 summit a few years ago, and the important thing is that the top leadership of China, Iran, Russia, South Africa, and India will all be present. All 11 countries will be present. It allows India to demonstrate leadership and ensure that contradictions and conflicts are reduced to a minimum. It can't be done overnight, but at least some attempt should be made. For India to have a locus as the leader and chairperson of the BRICS summit, to be able to bring people together, converge, and accept positions that will create better conditions in the world," he said. Khurshid said India's role as the leader and chairperson of the BRICS Summit should be to bring countries together, help them converge and accept positions that could create better conditions in the world. On whether India should play a role in resolving issues in West Asia, Khurshid said BRICS was not for India alone and that all 11 countries and dialogue partners must converge. He said the convergence of the countries would have to be reflected in the resolution and would emerge through conversations and discussions during the summit. India can play a role in pushing all this forward, creating the atmosphere and the overall sense that this is what must be achieved, he said. On concerns raised by Congress leaders over China's alleged activities in India's bordering areas, Khurshid said the Opposition's job was not to ruin a summit that is happening in India. He said such issues would be raised appropriately at the right time in Parliament or outside Parliament. This is not the time to raise them, he said, adding that a caution that could be privately given to government ministers was different from publicly raising the issues and undermining India's participation. (ANI)
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