Multilateralism needs reforms, not wholesale condemnation: Cong criticises PM Modi’s podcast

New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on the United Nations and other international organisations becoming irrelevant amid rising global conflicts.

Ramesh said the statement was in sync with US President Donald Trump’s take on these organisations.

In a post on his X handle, the Congress MP alleged that the Prime Minister was “clearly going out of his way to keep Trump in good humour”.

“He says international organisations, from which India has benefitted immensely, have become irrelevant. This is the US President’s language. In fact, it is Mr. Trump who is doing his best to make them irrelevant and now Mr. Modi is repeating ‘his good friend’s’ chant,” wrote Ramesh in the post.

The Rajya Sabha member said India has benefitted from these international organisations.

“Is the WHO not good for India? Is the WTO not good for India? Is the Paris Agreement on Climate Change not good for India? Has the UN, inspite of all its weaknesses, not provided for opportunities for Indian peacekeepers abroad?” Ramesh further wrote.

He said that reforms were needed in these organisations, but outright condemnation was not required. “Multilateralism needs reforms but does not deserve wholesale condemnation of the type President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are indulging in,” he said.

PM Modi, speaking on US scientist Lex Fridman’s podcast on Sunday, slammed the United Nations and other international organisations as irrelevant amid rising global conflicts — referring to the ongoing Middle East wars and China-US tensions.

“The international organisations that were created have become almost irrelevant, there is no reform in them. Institutions like the UN cannot play their role. People in the world who do not care about laws and rules are doing everything, no one is able to stop them,” the Prime Minister said.

The PM reflected on lessons from the Covid pandemic, which exposed the vulnerabilities of every nation and underscored the need for unity amid raging global tensions.

PM Modi called for a shift from conflict to cooperation, advocating a development-driven approach as the way forward.

IANS