Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday yet again attempted to peddle lies in Washington hours after he claimed that his phone was being tapped by the Modi-led government. While addressing the press at the National Press Club, Washington DC in the United States, Gandhi spoke about the Indian-China dispute to claim that China has occupied Indian territory.
When asked about India’s relationship with China and about the Indian government’s statement saying ‘not an inch of Indian land has been occupied by China’, Rahul Gandhi claimed that China has occupied 1500 sq km of land and it’s a fact.
“The fact of the matter is that China is occupying our territory. Its an accepted fact. I think 1500 sq km land, land of size of Delhi is occupied by China and I think that is absolutely unacceptable. Prime Minister seems to believe otherwise. I don’t know, may be he knows something we don’t know,” Gandhi could be heard saying in the video that has been making rounds on social media.
China has occupied our territory, and it's an accepted fact. They have occupied 1500 sq km of land, and it is absolutely unacceptable. However, PM Modi believes otherwise.
— All India Mahila Congress (@MahilaCongress) June 1, 2023
: Shri @RahulGandhi
📍National Press Club, Washington DC, USA pic.twitter.com/yMOvqUTOmI
Gandhi also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the way India is handling relations with China. As per the reports, Gandhi’s visit to the US comes weeks ahead of Modi’s scheduled US visit later this month.
Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India: MEA statements
The Congress leader happened to peddle lies by claiming that China is occupying India territory. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has time and again stated that the state of Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and that not an inch of Indian land belongs to China.
In January this year, External Affairs Minister slammed the Congress party for deliberately spreading misinformation regarding India-China relations. This is after Rahul Gandhi claimed last September that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given 100 square kilometres of Indian territory to China without a fight.
Jaishankar then slammed saying that “some people deliberately spread wrong news about the China issue knowing it is not true for politics and by talking about some land, which was taken by China in 1962, they give the impression this happened recently.”
He also pressed that some people in the opposition were deliberately trying to spread wrong news or information about China on purpose. “Sometimes, they talk about some land, which was taken by China in 1962. But they will not tell you the truth. They will give you the impression that this thing happened yesterday,” he had reiterated.
It is notable that China occupied large chunks of Indian territory in 1962, and continues to illegally occupy these areas. But the Congress party and some media houses keep claiming from time to time that those are recent developments, which is completely false. Although regular skirmishes take place between Indian and Chinese forces, and the Chinese military often enters Indian territory, the Line of Actual Control largely remains unchanged.
‘No part of Arunachal Pradesh occupied by China’ confirmed Indian Army
Also, in the year 2017, Indian Army’s Eastern Army commander, Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita had said that there was no Chinese incursion into Indian territory during the clashes at Tawang. He also had confirmed that no part of Arunachal Pradesh was occupied by the Chinese forces.
Further, recently in April this year, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi asserted that Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. His statement had come after it was reported by Global Times that China had released names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh in Chinese characters, Tibetan and pinyin according to the rules on geographical names issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet.
Outrightly rejecting China’s attempt to rename places of Arunachal Pradesh, MEA had said, “Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality. We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright.”
The United States stands with India, condemns China’s military aggression against India
Notably, the country in which Gandhi is at present, the United States had also condemned China’s military aggression and had said that Arunachal Pradesh an integral part of India.
In March this year, the United States recognized the McMahon Line as the international boundary between China and Arunachal Pradesh in a bipartisan Senate resolution. Standing firm with India, the US in its statement had said that “China continues to pose grave and gathering threats to the Free and Open Indo-Pacific and we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our strategic partners in the region, especially India.”
Senator Bill Hagerty, who along with Senator Jeff Merkley introduced a resolution in the Senate continued by saying that the bipartisan resolution demonstrates the Senate’s support for categorically acknowledging Arunachal Pradesh as a constituent state of India. He also had denounced China’s aggressive military actions along the Line of Actual Control in an effort to alter the status quo.
India has also in the past called out China’s military adventurism and expansionist ambitions, which have resulted in numerous confrontations between the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
The first big flare-up of this nature since Galwan (in Ladakh) Valley, occurred on December 9 in 2022, in the Yangtze area of Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector. In 2020, the Galwan clash, initiated by China, on 15–16 June, resulted in many deaths, on both the Indian and Chinese sides. According to reports, 20 Indian and at least 38 Chinese soldiers were dead, in one of the worst conflicts between the two countries in 45 years.
It is important to note that this is second attempt by Rahul Gandhi to spread lies and defame the Modi-led government on the international platform. Yesterday, Gandhi who is on 10 day visit to the United States had claimed that his phone was being tapped by the Indian government. He also blatantly greeted his iPhone saying, “Hello, Modi ji,” as he assumed PM Modi was listening to his conversation.
