Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], December 16 (ANI): Flagging a “clear threat from China” amid the ongoing border row, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed that the neighbouring country is “preparing for war” and alleged that the Centre is “hiding and not accepting it”.
In an apparent reference to the recent faceoff between the Indian and Chinese soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector on December 9, Gandhi said that China is making an “offensive preparation on the side of Ladakh and Arunachal” while the Indian government “is in slumber”.
“There is a clear threat from China. The government is trying to hide it and ignore it. But that threat cannot be ignored or hidden. China is making offensive preparation on the side of Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. The Indian government is in slumber. It doesn’t want to hear it. China is preparing for war, not for an incursion,” he said while addressing a press conference here.
“If you see the pattern of their weapons, they are preparing for war. Our government is hiding it and is not accepting it,” he added.
Gandhi also lashed out at External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and said that he should “deepen his understanding”. “This is happening because the Indian government is working event-based and is not working strategically. When there is a matter of international relations, no event works there. Power works there. I have said it multiple times that we should be careful. The EAM should deepen his understanding,” he said.
The Congress leader also questioned the media and said that it would not ask questions to him over the ongoing border row with China. “The ones who captured 2,000 sq km of India and killed 20 Indian soldiers, and are thrashing our soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh. I said to my friend that the Indian media would not ask me questions about it,” he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament that Chinese troops had attempted to transgress the LAC at Yangtse in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh in a bid to “unilaterally change the status quo”, but were given a firm and resolute response forcing the Chinese side to retreat.
In his statement in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Singh said the face-off led to a physical scuffle that led to injuries to a few personnel on both sides but “there were no fatalities or serious casualties” to Indian soldiers. Giving statements in both House, the Defence Minister also assured that “our forces are committed to protecting our territorial integrity and will continue to thwart any attempt made on it”. (ANI)
“Rahul Gandhi became so close to China…” Rajyavardhan Singh on ‘war preparation’ remark
New Delhi [India], December 16 (ANI): After Rahul Gandhi claimed that China is preparing for war against India, the BJP leader Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Congress leader questioning his alleged “closeness” with the Chinese. Gandhi, during a press conference in Rajasthan, had flagged a “clear threat from China” and claimed that the neighbouring country is “preparing for war” and alleged that the Centre is “hiding and not accepting it”.
“There is a clear threat from China. The government is trying to hide it and ignore it. But that threat cannot be ignored or hidden. China is making offensive preparation on the side of Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. The Indian government is in slumber. It doesn’t want to hear it. China is preparing for war, not for an incursion. If you see the pattern of their weapons, they are preparing for war. Our government is hiding it and is not accepting it,” Gandhi said.
Reacting sharply to the Congress leader’s claims, BJP leader Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore highlighted the “donations” that Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received from the Communist Party of China. “Rahul Gandhi spreads confusion and rumours when he talks about makes wrong comments on the Indian Army, and national security. He says a lot of things which is not objectionable. Rahul Gandhi’s maternal grandfather was sleeping when India lost 37,000 sq km to China. He has become so close to China that he knows what it is going to do next. Like he said that China is preparing for war. How did the closeness grow? He made such an agreement with the Communist Party of China that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation came under the payroll of China,” Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore alleged.
“Chinese Embassy gave a donation of Rs 1.35 crore to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in 2005. What was the need? In 2011, they took an amount of Rs 50 lakh from Zakir Naik’s Foundation. In 2008, they signed an MoU with the Communist Party of China that both parties would deliberate on how to run the country. These show the closeness with China,” Rathore added. Claiming that the Chinese army intruded 600 times between 2008 and 2013 when there was a Congress government, the BJP leader said that they were “accustomed” to intruding. “The Chinese Army intruded 600 times between 2008 and 2013 when there was a Congress government. They have become accustomed. That they can come in and they won’t find the Indian Army there. Even if Army would be there, they would not have any clear instructions from the Centre to fight against the Chinese army. Congress conspired to make such an India which cannot stand up against anybody,” he alleged.
Alleging that Rahul Gandhi had met with the Chinese Ambassador during the Doklam standoff, Rathore questioned about the purpose of the meeting. “When Doklam happened and the Indian Army was pushing the Chinese army back, they were secretly having meeting at the Chinese Embassy. What were the talks happening?,” he said. “Is this the language that he has used? This is not Nehru’s India of 1962. This is Modi’s New India in which the Indian Army has a free hand,” the BJP leader added.
Rathore questioned the 10-year tenure of the UPA government from 2004 to 2014 and said that no modern weapon was inducted to prepare the forces for war. “He said that China is preparing for war. Preparing for war takes a number of years. No modern weapon was inducted during the 10 years of the UPA government for its preparation. The Congress government was scared, not the Indian soldiers. Soldiers did not get a nod from the top to fight. Congress government conducted inquiry on the soldiers who took initiative by themselves to launch an attack,” Rathore said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament that Chinese troops had attempted to transgress the LAC at Yangtse in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh in a bid to “unilaterally change the status quo”, but were given a firm and resolute response forcing the Chinese side to retreat.
In his statement in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Singh said the face-off led to a physical scuffle that led to injuries to a few personnel on both sides but “there were no fatalities or serious casualties” to Indian soldiers. Giving statements in both House, the Defence Minister also assured that “our forces are committed to protecting our territorial integrity and will continue to thwart any attempt made on it”. (ANI)
