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PM Modi tells Opposition to read ‘JFK’s Forgotten Crisis’

Taking a veiled jibe at Rahul Gandhi, Modi, in his reply to the Motion of Thanks to President’s address, said anyone interested in foreign policy must read the book
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during his reply to the Motion of Thanks to President's address in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Photo: PTI
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A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Chinese troops were forcibly occupying Indian land — a remark the Government dismissed today — Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised Gandhi and the Opposition to read “JFK’s Forgotten Crisis”, a book by US foreign policy expert Bruce Riedel.

Taking a veiled jibe at Gandhi, Modi, in his reply to the Motion of Thanks to President’s address, said anyone interested in foreign policy must read the book.

“Some people feel they don’t look mature enough until they have spoken on foreign policy even if it means harming the country. I have a suggestion for such people — if they really have interest in foreign policy, they should read “JFK’s Forgotten Crisis”, Modi said.

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The PM added the book mentions important milestones in the life of former US president John F Kennedy, including his meetings and decisions with India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

In the chapter titled “Tibet, CIA and the Sino-Indian War”, the author says, “The embassy had rented a villa for Mrs Kennedy to stay in but Nehru insisted that she stay in a guest suite at the prime minister’s residence. It was the suite often used by Edwina Mountbatten, the wife of India’s last viceroy Lord Mountbatten, who had presided over the Partition. A frequent visitor to India after Independence, Edwina and Nehru were close friends if not more. Jackie was getting Nehru’s complete attention.”

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The book also notes, “Nehru who is deeply in love and has a picture of himself strolling with JBK (Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, the First Lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963) displayed all by itself in the main entrance hall of his house, is entirely agreeable.”

It further quotes Kennedy telling John Kenneth Galbraith, the then US Ambassador to India that the 1962 visit was “the worst state visit” of his presidency and also felt that Nehru seemed more interested in talking with Jackie than with him.

“According to another account, Nehru was much more interested in Pat Kennedy, JFK’s attractive twenty-seven-year-old sister, than in either Jack or Bobby,” the book adds.

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