New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) The Congress party on Thursday fired a fresh salvo against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government by describing Pakistan Chief of the Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir’s lunch with US President Donald Trump as a ‘blow to Indian diplomacy’.

Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary incharge of Communications, took to social media on Thursday to also call the Trump-Munir meeting as a setback for ‘hugplomacy’ – a term used to refer to Prime Minister Modi’s personal style of greeting heads of state with hugs.

In a message on X, Ramesh said, “Field Marshal Asim Munir is NOT the Head of State or Head of Government of Pakistan. He is the Chief of Army Staff. Yet he gets invited by President Trump for lunch and receives much praise.”

Linking Munir to the build-up to the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed, Ramesh said, “This is the same man whose atrocious and inflammatory remarks formed the immediate backdrop to the brutal Pahalgam terror attack orchestrated by the establishment over which he presides.”

Ramesh said the Trump-Munir lunch is a huge blow to Indian diplomacy and ‘hugplomacy’.

Significantly, the BJP has also often countered Congress attacks on diplomacy and foreign policy of PM Modi’s government and taken a swipe at some leaders of the Opposition party of imitating his style of greeting heads of state with hugs.

In an earlier message on X, the BJP’s incharge of National Information and Technology Department Amit Malviya had slammed Ramesh for questioning the government’s diplomacy and said, “Congress must stop maligning India’s firm and principled foreign policy just to feed its petty narratives.”

“Under Congress, India was seen as a weak, Third World country. Today, India is a rising power — a bright star in the global order. No amount of lies can dim that truth,” said Malviya.

Calling Ramesh a “congenital liar”, the BJP leader claimed the “Congress and its troll army simply can’t digest the fact that PM Modi told President Trump in clear terms — India neither needs nor accepts any third-party mediation.”

–IANS

rch/rad