NEW DELHI, India: Indian officials have faced widespread online mockery after videos from the BRICS summit showed them eating nuts and dry fruits while foreign leaders were delivering speeches, prompting questions over their conduct during formal diplomatic proceedings.
Iranian President Pezeshkian is speaking at the BRICS summit.
Behind him, India’s MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal is treating a bowl of nuts like a state banquet. Eating. Licking his finger. Going back in.
Protocol lasted until the cashews ran out of patience. Then someone quietly… pic.twitter.com/gs8Z7UMTqn— распад и неуважение (@VictorKvert2008) September 14, 2026
A widely circulated video shows Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal repeatedly reaching for a box of nuts while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was speaking. He is seen taking several servings before the footage spread across social media, with users on X criticising his repeated snacking and table manners.
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Diplomatic standards are clearly plummeting. At the BRICS summit, India’s MEA spokesperson Jaiswal was caught snacking on nuts and sucking his fingers while Iran’s President addressed the floor. Is this diplomacy or a lunch break? Ab… pic.twitter.com/jhoz2sOK9c
— Daisy Reid (@DaisyRe80647111) September 15, 2026
A separate video shows Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval eating dry fruits while Russian President Vladimir Putin was addressing the summit. The footage similarly triggered online reactions, turning moments from the otherwise formal gathering into a subject of jokes and criticism.
India’s MEA spokesperson went viral for demolishing a box of nuts during Iran’s President’s speech at the BRICS summit in New Delhi; eating, licking fingers, going back for more until protocol staff took the box away.
NSA Doval was also caught snacking during Putin’s address. pic.twitter.com/hcNs1jwmAx
— World Monitoring Center (@WMC_WORLD) September 14, 2026
The videos emerged during the 18th BRICS Summit, held in New Delhi on September 12–13, which brought together leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
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The online reactions have focused less on the summit’s diplomatic agenda and more on the behaviour of the Indian officials captured in the viral clips, with users questioning whether such conduct was appropriate during speeches by visiting heads of state.
