Cong v Cong over Brics: Tharoor rebuffs Chidambaram, hails ‘power’ of summit

Tharoor versus Chidambaram on BRICS. Photo credit: ANI

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has backed the Brics summit as an important diplomatic opportunity for India, breaking ranks with party colleague P Chidambaram, who has questioned whether recent Brics meetings have delivered tangible benefits.Defending the grouping’s relevance, Tharoor said it gives India a platform to engage with the Global South and a “diplomatic convening power”, bringing together countries that collectively account for a large share of the world’s population and economy.Speaking to news agency PTI on Thursday, The Congress MP said the expanded Brics grouping represents a significant share of the global population and economy.“First of all, we’re providing an important platform for the Global South. You know, the Global South is over 100 countries, but here we have 11 key players from the Global South who collectively represent much of the diversity of views, as well as the range of countries that we are essentially chairing on this particular occasion. This grouping, the 11 Brics countries, represents a majority of the world’s population and 41 per cent of global GDP”, Tharoor said.Tharoor also highlighted the diplomatic significance of India hosting the summit, with leaders beginning to arrive in New Delhi.“It’s not a small matter; it’s something that has to be taken very seriously by the rest of the world,” he said.Tharoor also pointed to the diplomatic value of hosting leaders from across the grouping and its partner countries. “Secondly, of course, having a dozen heads of state and government, not only members of Brics but also some observers coming at presidential and prime ministerial level, is a matter of great prestige for us. It shows a certain diplomatic convening power, which has value in and of itself on the global stage.”His comments came after Chidambaram questioned the outcomes of recent Brics meetings. Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Chidambaram said, “I don’t think the last two or three Brics summits have resulted in tangible benefits or tangible results.”“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.The remarks triggered a political response from the BJP, which accused the Congress of questioning an event that it said reflected India’s growing global standing.Senior Congress leader and former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid, meanwhile, urged the party to view Chidambaram’s remarks as a caution rather than criticism.“If Chidambaram is giving a word of caution, we should take it in the right spirit,” Khurshid told ANI. “And if it’s taken in the right spirit, we may have a better outcome from this summit.”However, in another video, Tharoor addressed the difficulties in India-China ties, saying they “have come entirely from one side”. He also cited the Galwan tragedy, border tensions, visa issues and trade leverage and stressed that a “self-respecting India” would stand up for itself and called for greater flexibility, understanding and friendship.“So yes, the bilateral relationship, the bilateral meeting, is potentially very important, but what we’re looking for is a little more flexibility, understanding, and friendship coming from the Chinese side than they’ve shown us in the last six years”, Tharoor added.

Brics currently comprises Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE. Together, the 11 members account for around 49.5 per cent of the global population, 40 per cent of global GDP and 26 per cent of global trade.The 18th Brics Summit will be held in New Delhi on September 12-13, with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Chinese president Xi Jinping and Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian among the key leaders attending.Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday and is scheduled to meet prime minister Narendra Modi ahead of the summit, as India seeks to use its Brics chairship to push for greater cooperation. With the summit set to begin on Saturday, the focus will now be on whether New Delhi can turn its diplomatic convening power into concrete outcomes.