External affairs minister S Jaishankar heaped praises on PM Modi's leadership and diplomacy citing examples of Operation Ganga and Vande Bharat and said leaders, ideology and beliefs matter but the thinking that PM Modi represents will be a bigger part of the national thinking. "So hopefully there will not be any need to change it over a period of time," the foreign minister said interacting with students in Vadodara. Also Read | ‘Expert in international terrorists’: Jaishankar’s swipe at Pakistan
Talking about operation Ganga, Jaishankar said the evacuation of around 20,000 students from the strife-torn Ukraine was an example of how diplomacy works. "It was a test for the system that whether we can address such a crisis after 7-8 years and in this, the leadership played a major role," Jaishankar said.
"Those who know PM Modi's style of working will know, he does complete monitoring and more than that. At that time, the UP election campaign was going on. He used to hold back-to-back rallies in the day and in the evening he used to take updates of the rescue operation," Jaishankar added.
"Diplomacy is something where you must have heard that personal relationship is important. When you talk to the other person, the other person knows you, knows your face, and voice and it becomes difficult to say 'no' to you. PM Modi talked to both Ukrainian president Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin and requested for a ceasefire when our students were being evacuated," the foreign minister said.
There was huge pressure on India on the issue of oil, but India was sure to not buckle under any pressure, Jaishankar said. “Due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict petrol prices doubled. We had pressure from where to buy the oil but PM Modi and the government were of the view that we have to do what is best for our nation and if pressure comes then we should face it,” the minister said.
{{/usCountry}}There was huge pressure on India on the issue of oil, but India was sure to not buckle under any pressure, Jaishankar said. “Due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict petrol prices doubled. We had pressure from where to buy the oil but PM Modi and the government were of the view that we have to do what is best for our nation and if pressure comes then we should face it,” the minister said.
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