Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s complete control and personalisation of India’s foreign policy is hurting the country, said former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha in an interview with former Congress leader Kapil Sibal.

“Modi has completely personalised India’s foreign policy. The external affairs minister is nothing more than a glorified foreign secretary,” Sinha, who had served as the external affairs minister in the NDA government led by the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, told Sibal in a chat streamed on YouTube. “Except for Timbuktu, he must have visited every other place, spending crores. What is the result? When the IMF loan to Pakistan came up no country stood with India.”

“We don’t have good relations with any of our South Asian neighbours. We are on good terms only with Israel, Taiwan and Taliban,” Sinha said.

Sinha reminded of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi reaching out to her political nemesis the late Jai Prakash Narayan to be India’s roving envoy on the issue of Bangladesh.

In the summer of 1971, JP visited 16 countries in a span of six weeks, including Moscow, London, Helsinki and also Washington to explain India’s stand on the creation of Bangladesh.

“Can anyone imagine Indira ji reaching out to JP and his accepting the role? Those were different times,” Sinha said.

In the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, the Narendra Modi government picked names from the opposition on its own without consulting any of the parties to represent India’s case in different countries.

After a pushback, Union minister of Parliamentary affairs, Kiren Rijiju reached out to the parties on Monday for a consensus on the names.

“In 2004, I was in Washington for a meeting the officials. One morning I was told President Bush has called for a meeting at 9am. None of the media then said India’s drum was rolling across the globe. India’s foreign policy has seen many successes. But I never heard anyone claim India ka danka baj raha hai (blowing trumpet),” he said.

The aftermath of the Pahalgam attack is cluttered with many unanswered questions, said Sinha.

“We are still in the dark about what happened in Pulwama. The same will happen in the Pahalgam case. Who were the attackers? What happened to them?” asked Sinha.

He also expressed doubts over the manner in which the ceasefire between India and Pakistan was announced by US President Donald Trump.

“Why Modi did not announce a unilateral ceasefire if India’s purpose of destroying terror camps in PoK and inside Pakistan was served? This was not a 100m race that Trump rushed to make the announcement first. The US administration, Vice President J.D. Vance, secretary of state Rubio spoke in one voice. Modi, on the other hand, is completely silent,” Sinha said.

Talking about his days in the Parliament, both in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, Sinha said he preferred the old India over new India.

“Between them, Vajpayee, Chandra Shekhar and PV Narsimha Rao were good friends. Heated debates took place inside the House. Outside at the Central Hall they would chat and laugh. The atmosphere was not vitiated. In debates there were no personal attacks,” he said.

“During the UPA days once there was a heated exchange and the House had to be adjourned. Pranab Mukherjee walked up to me in the opposition benches and asked if he had used harsh words. I told him you were angrier than usual, and if you apologise when the House reconvenes, everything will be normal. He did that. That atmosphere is completely gone now,” he said.