The  slugfest between the ruling BJP and the Opposition  Congress on the issue of ongoing tension at the Line of Actual control (LAC) in Ladakh continued on Wednesday with the saffron party  attacking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi  for  claiming that China had usurped India’s land and accused him of making “baseless allegations”.  

The BJP sought to ‘remind’ the Congress leader  that China captured over 43,000 sq km of Indian land when Jawaharlal Nehru was prime minister . The current verbal spat broke out following Rahul’s renewed allegation that China has captured Indian land.

An aggressive BJP in its riposte  flagged a 2008 MoU between the Congress and Chinese Community Party to target Rahuli, asking if the agreement required him to work against India’s interests and to hurt the morale of Indian forces.  BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia’s attack came hours after Rahul reiterated his charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion during the early weeks of the Ladakh standoff that China had not captured any part of Indian territory was an “absolute lie”. “The whole of Ladakh knows that China has usurped our land,” the former Congress president  told reporters.

Bhatia said China captured over 43,000 sq km of Indian land when Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister and asked if Gandhi believed the stalwart Congress leader and his great grandfather was a “traitor”.

The term ‘gaddar’ (traitor) was used by Gandhi recently for those who “gave away a part of Bharat Mata” to China, the BJP leader said.

Rahul should disclose the details of the MoU signed between the Congress and the CCP, he said, alleging it has been claimed the agreement requires him to “spy” against India and to break to morale of Indian forces when they act decisively against the Chinese.

Does this MoU also require him to mock a prime minister, who is the protective shield for every citizen and has elevated India’s global stature, as “surrender Modi”,” Bhatia asked in a reference to  Congress leader’s earlier swipe  at him.

He asserted that no one can dare to capture an inch of Indian land under Modi’s leadership. The people of India will bless him again in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the BJP will retain power with a bigger mandate, Bhatia said.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi  also flayed  Rahul for claiming that China had  usurped India’s land and accused him of making “baseless allegations”.

China grabbed India’s land during the Jawaharlal Nehru’s tenure as prime minister, Joshi said. “Rahul Gandhi’s allegations are baseless.”

“They (China) are doing some activities in the area that was grabbed during Nehru’s tenure as prime minister. This is due to the sins committed by the Congress post-Independence that China has become our neighbour. From the time it was Tibet till today, these people pursued policies which led to this,” Joshi said.

Rahul Gandhi “does not have any understanding” of policies, Joshi charged.

On Monday, Beijing released the 2023 edition of the so-called “standard map of China” that laid claim over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as regions within its borders.

“Our External Affairs Ministry has already condemned China’s action on the map issue and has also strongly protested it. But he (Rahul Gandhi) does not trust our External Affairs Ministry. He believes in what China says,” the Union minister said.

The clash between India-China troops  at Galwan in  Ladakh  on the night of  June 15/16, 2020,  in which 20 Indian troops were killed  has led to a continued stand-off between the  forces of the two counties that also triggered a political charges and counter-charges between the ruling and the opposition parties on the status at the LAC.