Senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad on Wednesday urged the BJP to pressure the Center to officially declare Pakistan an enemy state, arguing that such a decision can only be made through India’s foreign policy framework and not through political rhetoric.
During a debate in the Legislative Council on the use of inappropriate language, Mr. Hariprasad said that whether a country is an enemy nation cannot be decided by individuals or political parties. “This country has a foreign policy. If Pakistan is an enemy state, the Center should declare it for it,” he said.
Diplomatic ties
He pointed out that diplomatic relations with Pakistan continued, including the presence of embassies, and questioned how Pakistan could be labeled an “enemy nation” without cutting off such relations.
Reacting to BJP member KS Naveen, who recalled Mr. Hariprasad’s earlier remarks describing Pakistan as a neighboring country, he said that India need not maintain any relationship with Pakistan if foreign policy so chooses.
Mr. Hariprasad also said that China posed a bigger threat to India and noted that the Union External Affairs Minister had recognized China’s occupation of Indian territory.
Sports engagement
Referring to the killing of 26 civilians in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, he said the Center could have declared Pakistan an enemy state then. However, he criticized the BJP for allowing the sports encounter and pointed out that Indian teams were playing cricket matches with Pakistan in Dubai even after the incident.
Rejecting the charge of lack of patriotism, Mr. Hariprasad said the Congress had never raised slogans in favor of Pakistan or glorified its leaders. He recalled former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s stance that dialogue with Pakistan would not be resumed until terrorism ended.
Invited to take oaths
He also pointed out that in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his swearing-in and urged BJP leaders to think about their nationalist claims, referring to the India Gate memorial with the names of martyrs from all communities.
The statements led to heated exchanges between MPs of both parties in the House of Commons.
Published – 04 Feb 2026 20:15 IST
