The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday reacted to the remarks by Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on the cognitive abilities of outgoing US President Joe Biden.

Gandhi, while addressing a poll rally in Maharashtra on November 16, had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to be suffering “memory loss” like the “former President” of the US, apparently referring to Biden, the outgoing president of the United States of America.

During a press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that reports of such remarks are “unfortunate” and that they are not in keeping with warm and friendly ties with the United States.

“India shares a multifaceted partnership with the United States, and this partnership has been built over years of perseverance, togetherness, mutual respect and commitment by both sides. We see such reports as remarks as unfortunate, and they’re not in keeping with warm and friendly ties with the United States and do not represent the position of the government of India,” Jaiswal said.

Medical practitioners’ letter

Last week, a group of medical practitioners had demanded a public apology from Rahul Gandhi over his remarks related to Joe Biden.

In a letter to former Congress chief and Rahul Gandhi’s mother Sonia Gandhi, All India President of the National Medicos Organisation Bharat (NMO-Bharat) CB Tripathi said that Rahul Gandhi’s comments suggest a “lack of sensitivity and perpetuate harmful stereotypes about ageing and cognitive health.”

The medical practitioners said that such remarks are also “unbecoming” of a Leader of Opposition and suggest a “lack of understanding and sensitivity.”

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They added that such statements risk perpetuating misinformation and potentially shaping public perceptions in ways that could negatively impact the understanding and treatment of actual patients.