India on Friday emphasised that it shares a strong relationship with Italy and underscored the importance of maintaining mutual respect in public discourse, a day after a Congress leader triggered a controversy with his political jibe at Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said this at his bi-weekly media briefing while responding to a question on Rahul Gandhi's criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of foreign policy and subsequent remarks by Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit.