Rahul Gandhi Continues To Demoralise The Nation: JP Nadda
NEW DELHI : The Congress on Monday accused the BJP of resorting to “cheap distractions and stunts” to “manage headlines” during the India-China border crisis, after the ruling party attacked Rahul Gandhi for not attending meetings of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence.
The opposition party also said that had the BJP government spent its energy in fighting China and supporting the armed forces, it would not have to “lie” and “mislead” the country on Chinese transgressions at the border.
The Congress” counter came after BJP chief J P Nadda took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi who has been firing salvos at the Modi government daily over the border stand-off.
The ruling BJP, bombarded with questions from Rahul Gandhi on the China crisis, hit back today with a dig at his reported absence from meetings of the Standing Committee on Defence, a cross-party panel of MPs. BJP chief JP Nadda, in tweets, said the Congress MP “does not attend a single meeting” of the panel but continued to question the armed forces.
“Rahul Gandhi does not attend a single meeting of Standing Committee on Defence. But sadly, he continues to demoralise the nation, question the valour of our armed forces and do everything that a responsible opposition leader should not do,” Mr Nadda tweeted this morning.
“Rahul Gandhi belongs to that glorious dynastic tradition where as far as defence is concerned, committees don’t matter, only commissions do. Reports have flagged, citing the Lok Sabha website, that Mr Gandhi has not attended a single meeting of the Standing Committee on Defence since it was formed last year. The committee has met 11 times since September last year, and Mr Gandhi is not listed among those who attended each meeting.
Rahul Gandhi has been leading the Congress party’s attacks on the government over a range of subjects including the June 15 clash with China in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the line of duty.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala hit back at Nadda, saying his “insidious comments” are making him look like a “poorer version of malicious BJP spokespersons”.
“Had the BJP and the Modi Government spent its energy in fighting China and supporting our Armed Forces, you wouldn’t”need to lie on Chinese transgressions to mislead the nation,” he said on Twitter.
“Why resort to such cheap distractions. China is making incursions into Indian territory at 6-7 points in Ladakh and the prime minister is giving a clean chit to China, saying ”there has been no incursion and no one has occupied our land or post”,” Pawan Kheda said.
“These are cheap stunts to manage headlines. Instead of responding to questions asked by Rahul Gandhi, whether on coronavirus, foreign policy, economy or the border standoff, you (the BJP) respond by attacking the one who has asked the question,” he said.
“Your foreign policy has become a victim of event management. Governments do not run on headlines management. How long can you continue doing this?”he asked.
“Is cutting Rs 11,000 CR of ”Dearness Pay” of 15 Lakh Members of our Armed Forces & 26 Lakh Military Pensioners (from 1/1/2020 to 30/6/2021) Modi Govt”s way of encouragement or a Machiavellian hit job?” he tweeted
“Did the Estimates Committee of Parliament headed by ex BJP president, Sh. M.M.Joshi submit a report citing that defence expenditure was ”lowest since 1962”-lowest in 56 yrs? Is this Modi Government”s way of enhancing the morale of our armed Forces?”
He asked if the Modi Government has listened to Standing Committee on Defence headed by Gen BC Khanduri which held that “68 per cent of our ”equipment is vintage” & there are insufficient resources for ”construction of strategic roads on China Border”.
Surjewala also asked whether the panel held that despite PMO”s intervention having been sought on allocation of adequate defence budget, “the PMO chose not to act”.”Is this the PM”s concern for defence preparedness,” he asked.
Alleging that China committed 2,264 transgressions on Indian territory since 2015 under the Modi Government, he asked, “Why did the BJP Government not act upon this premeditated Chinese design”.
Rahul Gandhi had on Friday said that the voices of “patriotic Ladakhis” must be heard and ignoring them would cost India “dearly”. “Patriotic Ladakhis are raising their voice against Chinese intrusion. They are screaming a warning. Ignoring their warning will cost India dearly. For India’s sake, please listen to them,” wrote Gandhi on Twitter.
The former Congress president also shared a video allegedly showcasing testimonies of the people of Ladakh regarding previous India-China clashes besides the recent Galwan Valley face-off.
The former Congress president’s sharp attacks on the government on China have included questions on whether Indian Territory was “surrendered” to the country in the long face-off with the country at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
In one of his recent tweets, Mr Gandhi said while the people of Ladakh claim that China has taken their land, the PM says otherwise and someone is “lying”. He also tweeted a video of residents of Ladakh accusing China of occupying Indian Territory.
