After Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign trips, the Union Ministry of External Affairs has dubbed the comments "irresponsible and regrettable".
“We have seen some comments made by a high state authority about India’s relations with friendly countries from the Global South. These remarks are irresponsible and regrettable and do not behove the state authority," stated MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
#WATCH | Chandigarh | Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann says, "PM has gone somewhere. I think it is Ghana. He is going to be back and he is welcome. God knows which countries he keeps visiting, 'Magnesia', 'Galveaisa', 'Tarvesia'. He does not stay in a country with 140 crore people. He is… pic.twitter.com/lbOObtIRDB
— ANI (@ANI) July 10, 2025
"Government of India disassociates itself from such unwarranted comments that undermine India’s ties with friendly countries," he added. However, the MEA did not refer to Mann by name.
On Thursday, the PM had returned from his trip to Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia. The response from MEA came after the Punjab CM said Modi is visiting countries where the population is less than 10,000 instead of staying in India where there are 140 crore people.
"PM has gone somewhere. I think it is Ghana. He is going to be back and he is welcome. God knows which countries he keeps visiting, 'Magnesia', 'Galveaisa', 'Tarvesia'," Mann said, using made-up names of countries. "He is visiting countries where the population is 10,000 and he is getting the ‘highest awards’ there."
Mann was referring to the honours PM Modi received from the countries he visited. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva conferred Modi with the country's highest civilian honour - the Grand Collar of the National Order of the Southern Cross -- for deepening the bilateral relations and improving cooperation between the two nations. "Being honoured with Brazil's highest national award by the President today is a moment of immense pride and emotion, not only for me, but also for 140 crore Indians," Modi said.
Modi also received Namibia's highest civilian honour, the Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis from Namibian President Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. Earlier, Ghana conferred Modi with the country's highest civilian award, the Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana.
