New Delhi: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, on his Ladakh visit, hit out at the Narendra Modi government Sunday over China’s alleged intrusion into the Indian mainland. The member of Parliament also said that he could not make Ladakh a part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, which concluded in the beginning of this year, owing to “logistical reasons”.
Speaking to the media after paying tribute to his late father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Ladakh Sunday, Gandhi said, “Over here, the concern (of people) is that the land has been taken away by China. People here have been affected by it in a big way because their grazing lands have been taken away.”
The Congress leader started his Leh-Ladakh visit on 17 August. While the visit was initially planned for two days, there is no clarity on the duration, with some media reports suggesting it was extended by six days.
Gandhi added, “They (people) can’t move (as China has grabbed their land)… the PM said not an inch of land was taken away, but this is not true, you can ask anyone here.”
The Congress has been questioning the government over the border situation with China, with troops of the two countries locked in an over three-year stand-off in parts of eastern Ladakh following border skirmishes in 2020.
Despite disengagement from the Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15), the Indian and Chinese armies continue to maintain thousands of troops and equipment along the Line of Actual Control. The two sides failed to make any headway on the critical issue of Chinese presence in Depsang Plains earlier in talks held earlier this month.
Following Gandhi’s comments, Union minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia hit back at the Congress leaders saying that the Congress should look within for giving away land to China during its tenure. Scindia said, “The Congress party, that chanted the slogan of ‘Hindi chini bhai bhai’ even as it gave away 45,000 sq km to China [after the 1962 war], should first look within.”
Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad also attacked the Congress leader, reminding him of what his party had allegedly done. “Today, when Rahul Gandhi talks about Ladakh, I want to remind him of two things. During the time of your great grandfather Jawahar Lal Nehru…India’s land was captured by China before & after the 1962 war. Do you remember that? Do you remember how the Dalai Lama was forced to leave Tibet?”, said Prasad.
The former Union minister added, “Secondly, your government’s official stand was that on the Chinese border from Ladakh to Arunachal, roads are not to be constructed. Because that will irritate China…The then defence Minister A.K. Antony stated in Parliament, ‘We don’t want to irritate China by erecting infrastructure’…This is your (Congress party’s) past. This is your thought.”
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Opposition reacts
However, Gandhi’s statement found support both within his own party and among other opposition parties
Senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MP Sanjay Raut called it an “injustice” if the Modi government is not ready to accept the situation caused by China. Speaking to the media, he said, “China has captured the land and there is evidence of it as well. If our Defence Minister and Prime Minister are not ready to accept this, I think it is an injustice to Bharat Mata.”
Coming out in Gandhi’s support, he added, “Rahul Gandhi has said that China has captured land. On that the prime minister and Defence minister, should not mislead people and should tell the truth. This is what Rahul ji is saying.”
Senior Congress leader Udit Narayan went on to say that Prime Minister Modi is “lying” about China not entering India. “Either he is sold out or he is scared of China…what Rahul Gandhi said is true,” he said to the media Sunday.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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