The long-suppressed fissures in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra have come out in open as an unusual bout of mutual recriminations seems to have erupted between the long-time allies NCP and Congress after the NCP supremo Sharad Pawar stridently criticised the Congress party for politicising the Indo-Sino border dispute.
Following Sharad Pawar’s remarks that he can’t forget what happened in 1962 when China captured India’s 45,000 sq km of land, Congress leader Nitin Raut responded to the comment passed by Pawar saying he should have rectified the mistakes of 1962 when he was Defence Minister of the country.
“When China captured our territory in 1962, situation was different. Sharad Pawar should have rectified mistakes when he was Def Min under Cong rule.Instead of commenting on Rahul Gandhi’s remark he should’ve advised PM to speak on issue,” Maharashtra minister and Congress leader Nitin Raut said.
When China captured our territory in 1962, situation was diff. Sharad Pawar should have rectified mistakes when he was Def Min under Cong rule.Instead of commenting on Rahul Gandhi’s remark he should’ve advised PM to speak on issue: Nitin Raut, Maharashtra Minister&Cong leader pic.twitter.com/eeDEcIpPJ4
— ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2020
The trenchant counter-remarks from a Congress leader comes on the heels of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s sharp disapproval of the former Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s attempts to politicise the border dispute between India and China.
Pawar was responding to Rahul Gandhi’s comments that PM Modi had “surrendered” to China after violent clashes broke out between the two sides in Galwan Valley that resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian troopers and an undisclosed yet comparable number of fatalities on the Chinese side.
We can’t forget what happened in 1962 when China occupied 45,000 sq km of our territory. At present,I don’t know if they occupied any land,but while discussing this we need to remember past. National security matters shouldn’t be politicised: Sharad Pawar on Rahul Gandhi’s remark pic.twitter.com/bzZmRZtwVU
— ANI (@ANI) June 27, 2020
When asked about Rahul Gandhi’s remarks against PM Modi, Sharad Pawar said,”We can’t forget what happened in 1962 when China occupied 45,000 sq km of our territory. At present,I don’t know if they occupied any land,but while discussing this we need to remember past. National security matters shouldn’t be politicised.”
Rahul Gandhi twists PM Modi’s statements on Ladakh standoff
Rahul Gandhi had gone into a tizzy after Prime Minister Modi’s recent statement about the Galwan Valley stand-off. He claimed that the Prime Minister had ‘surrendered Indian territory to China’. Factually, his claims made no sense, of course. However, that did not stop him from furthering this platitude. The Chinese troops entered Galwan Valley earlier and were pushed back by Indian Army in early May.
The Chinese Army then came back and while being pushed back, the present clashes took place. PM Modi’s statement simply meant that the PLA has no presence on our side of the LAC after they were pushed behind.
Using a screenshot where Prime Minister Modi had assured Indians that the Chinese have not managed to intrude in our territory and grab any land, Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Modi of ‘surrendering Indian territory to Chinese aggression’.
He then said that if the land was Chinese, why were our soldiers killed and where were they killed. He thereby cast aspersions that Galwan Valley, which is part of Indian territory and where Indian soldiers were martyred fighting the PLA, is now ‘surrendered to Chinese aggression’. Rahul Gandhi, thereby, suggested that the Galwan Valley territory in Ladakh is now grabbed by the Chinese.
