Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has questioned the respective roles of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in shaping India’s foreign policy, while raising questions over Doval’s accountability and India’s position on several international issues.
Chavan said that both Jaishankar and Doval report directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and do not report to each other, raising questions about how responsibilities relating to foreign policy are divided between them.
“Today under the Prime Minister, who is driving foreign policy? One side we have the Foreign Minister, Jaishankar, he is very experienced IFS officer. On the other side, we have Doval who has been the National Security Advisor for the past 10 years. During our time, when Dr. Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, the NSA was always a junior position. The NSAs were of the rank of Minister of State, under a Cabinet Minister. But now, Modi has given Doval a Cabinet rank. So both individuals, whether it is Jaishankar or Doval, both report directly to the Prime Minister; they do not report to each other,” Chavan said.
He contrasted the current arrangement with the system during the Manmohan Singh government, saying that the NSA earlier functioned under Cabinet ministers in matters relating to internal security.
“Earlier, our system was that the NSA, in matters of internal security, reported to the Cabinet Minister for External Affairs and the Cabinet Minister for Home Affairs. Now all the three, Amit Shah, Jaishankar and Ajit Doval all are Cabinet rank ministers. They report directly to the Prime Minister. So when it comes to the foreign ministry, they must tell the country what Jaishankar is overseeing and what Doval is handling,” he said.
Chavan also referred to recent foreign visits by the two officials and questioned whether their responsibilities had been divided.
“We saw recently, that Doval went to China and Jaishankar went to Russia. Have they divided the work among themselves that some work will be handled by Doval and some by Jaishankar?” he asked.
Chavan Questions Doval’s Parliamentary Accountability
Chavan further raised questions over Doval’s accountability to Parliament, contrasting the position of the NSA with that of a Cabinet minister.
“Now, see, Doval is not accountable to Parliament, whereas Jaishankar is. Our constitutional system is that Cabinet Ministers are accountable to Parliament. But Doval is an officer; he is neither elected nor has he taken any constitutional oath. So, in what manner is he conducting foreign policy?” Chavan said.
He also commented on the recently concluded BRICS Summit, saying that the government should be congratulated for successfully hosting the summit while arguing that its outcomes need to be assessed.
“I would congratulate the government for the BRICS Summit being successful; it is good that it happened. No big incidents took place, yes small things were happening. As a member of BRICS, it is India’s responsibility, India has done what was required. It is important to see what has been achieved from this.”
Chavan then raised questions over the impact of the summit and India’s broader foreign-policy position amid tensions involving the United States, Iran and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“Have we got anything from this that America is threatening us? Are we facing any loss because of the Iran war? Will we have a role to play in the Russia-Ukraine war? Pakistan has moved ahead of us, while we remain where we are. So, we have many concerns regarding foreign policy. BRICS Summit is over, what next?” he said.
Delhi: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan says, “…During our time, when Dr. Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, the NSA was always a junior position. The NSAs were of the rank of Minister of State, under a Cabinet Minister. But now, Modi… pic.twitter.com/yaR4MVsBCX
— IANS (@ians_india) September 23, 2026
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