China preparing for war, Indian govt “asleep”: Rahul Gandhi; Not Nehru’s India of 1962, it’s Modi’s new India, BJP’s response

JAIPUR/NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed that China is preparing for war and accused the government of trying to “ignore” this threat, saying it was “asleep” and not ready to accept the situation.

Gandhi’s attack on the government drew a sharp response from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which accused the Congress leader of trying to create a misconception in the country and demoralising Indian soldiers while asserting that it is not Nehru’s India of 1962. The BJP accused Gandhi of continuing to doubt the valour of Indian soldiers.

Gandhi’s criticism came on a day when Eastern Army commander Lt General R P Kalita said border areas along the country’s northern frontier are “stable” and that the Indian Armed forces remain “firmly in control”. “We are prepared for all eventualities and all contingencies.”

Addressing a press conference in Jaipur on the completion of 100 days of the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi also hit out at External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, saying he keeps making remarks but needs to “deepen his understanding.”

Gandhi also slammed the media, saying he is sure that reporters would ask him about everything from Sachin Pilot to Ashok Gehlot amid the tussle between the two leaders in Rajasthan, but not a question on China.

“I can see the threat of China very clearly. I have been clear on this for the last two-three years, but the government is trying to hide it and ignore it. This threat can neither be hidden nor ignored. Their (China’s) full offensive preparation is going on…the Indian government is asleep,” Gandhi said, referring to conflicts on the borders of Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh.

“The government does not want to listen to this but their (China’s) preparation is on. The preparation is for war. It is not for incursion, but for war. If you look at their weapon pattern, what they are doing — they are preparing for war. Our government hides this and is not able to accept it,” the former Congress chief said.

He alleged that this is happening because the BJP-led government does event-based work and does not work strategically.

“They think in terms of event management, but where geostrategy is involved, event-based action does not work, power works. I have said three-four times that we should be careful and should understand what is happening,” Gandhi said.

“They keep making statements. I see the external affairs minister keeps making remarks. I should not say it, but he should deepen his understanding.”

BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya said every proud Indian has seen videos of Indian soldiers thrashing their Chinese counterparts, except Gandhi, who continues to doubt their valour just because he “signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chinese, his family enjoyed Chinese hospitality and received funds in RG Foundation.”

Taking a dig at the Congress leader, BJP spokesperson Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said, “Rahul Gandhi feels there should be proximity with China. Now he has developed so much proximity that he knows what China will do.”

“In his yatra, Rahul Gandhi has make comments about Indian security and border areas to create misconceptions in the country and demoralise Indian soldiers. This is not India of his great grandfather (Jawaharlal) Nehru, who lost 37,000 square kilometers to China while sleeping.”

“This is Modi’s India, this is new India. Now if anyone raises eye against the country he gets befitting reply,” Rathore told a news conference in Delhi.

He further said for his re-launching, Rahul Gandhi should not make irresponsible remarks about national security.

Lt Gen Kalita’s assertion on India’s preparedness came a week after Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed at the border area of Yangtze, to the north east of the monastery town of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, which had been invaded by China’s PLA in 1962.

Stating that there are different perceptions of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army(PLA) at several points, he said eight of these areas are acknowledged by both sides.

Kalita said the PLA transgressed in one of these areas in the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh, which was “very firmly contested” by Indian forces on ground.

“Presently, would like to assure everybody that the border areas along the northern frontier are stable and we are firmly in control,” the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Eastern Command said.

The Army commander said that as military men, the Armed forces are always prepared to safeguard the nation, “whether in peace or in conflict”, asserting that primary task of the defence forces is to ensure territorial integrity of the country against any external or internal threat.

Maintaining that there were some minor injuries to soldiers of both sides in the Tawang clashes, he said local commanders were able to resolve the issue by carrying out negotiations resorting to existing protocols.

“It led to some amount of physical violence, but it was contained at the local level resorting to existing bilateral mechanisms and protocols.”

He said this was followed by a flag meeting at the delegation level at Bumla, wherein the issue was resolved further.

To a question whether there was any incursion by China or any land in Arunachal was being held by India’s northern neighbour, the Army commander said “the short answer is no.”  (PTI)