"Don't give such statements blindly": Tawang residents slam Rahul Gandhi for insulting Indian Army over Tawang clash

New Delhi, Dec 17: In yet another instance of stooping low, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that Chinese troops are thrashing Indian army soldiers along the line of actual control (LAC). He made these remarks in Rajasthan where he was addressing a press conference during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra.

 

Rahul Gandhi said, "People will ask about Bharat Jodo yatra, here and there, Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot and whatnot. But they will not ask a single question about China capturing 2000 square kilometers of Indian territory, killing 20 Indian soldiers, and thrashing our soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh. But the Indian press doesn’t ask a question to them about this. Isn’t it true? The nation is watching all this. Don’t pretend that the people don’t know."

 

 

Notably, his remarks come a week after clashes broke out between the Indian and Chinese troops on December 9, 2022, in the border area of the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh. Around 300 Chinese soldiers were involved in the attack.

 

Getting upset with such comments, residents of Tawang has condemned his remarks. "What Rahul Gandhi said was wrong. I do not appreciate it," a local said. Another local said, "He shouldn't speak blindly. Even in harsh winter, the Indian Army is guarding our borders."

 

"We people of Tawang feel proud of the Indian Army. We feel safe in Tawang because of Indian Army," another resident 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.