A week into the clashes between the Indian and Chinese soldiers at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, as the Congress kept up its attack against the Modi dispensation on the issue with its chief on Saturday wanting to know when there would be a “China pe charcha”, the Government had its Union Ministers take on the main Opposition party by calling its former president Rahul Gandhi a “huge embarrassment for the country” and asserting “no amount of praise for the armed forces is enough”.
“The bravery and valour displayed by the armed forces during the Galwan valley clashes and the recent face-off in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh is commendable and any amount of praise for them is not enough,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, leading the counter while addressing an event here.
His remarks came a day after Rahul accused the Government of downplaying the threat posed by China along the LAC saying that it was “asleep” and not ready to accept the situation and that Indian soldiers were getting beaten up by their Chinese counterparts.
The Defence Minister also took an indirect dig at Rahul for always “doubting” the Government’s intentions. He said politics cannot be done on the basis of “falsehood”.
Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot sought to explain what Rahul actually meant. “The country is going through a huge crisis. The crisis is not that a war is going on at the border. This is more dangerous. Our brave soldiers can fight at the border, the country is capable enough,” he said, adding, “This crisis will make the country hollow”.
And this is what Rahul worries about, he maintained.
However, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, who visited Tawang and asserted that the area is fully secured now due to adequate deployment of the brave jawans of Indian Army, came out hard saying, “Rahul is not only insulting Indian Army but damaging nation’s image. He is not only a problem for the Congress but has also become a huge embarrassment to the country. We are proud of our Armed Forces.” He even shared a video of the locals who criticised Rahul for his comments.
Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said he was not surprised by Rahul’s statement as “even at the time of Doklam he was seen drinking soup with Chinese officials”.
Earlier, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge hit out at the Modi Government asking when will India have “China pe charcha”, in a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign initiative “chai pe charcha”.
On Friday, Kharge said he was not allowed to speak about the India-China clash in the Rajya Sabha despite the Chairman giving him the authority to talk on the issue. Kharge tweeted that Chinese troops are building in the Doklam area up to the Jampheri ridge which is located very close to the strategic Siliguri Corridor. He said the matter is of “utmost concern for our national security”.
BJP president JP Nadda alleged that the Congress signing an MoU with the Chinese Communist Party and Rajiv Gandhi Foundation taking funding from Chinese embassy could be the reason why “Rahul Gandhi always speaks in favour of Chinese Government and Chinese army”.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia likened Rahul to Jaichand, the king of Kannauj who is projected as a betrayer to the Indian cause in some historical accounts, and alleged that the former Congress chief has constantly tried to break the armed forces’ morale, be it after the surgical airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan or after the Galwan valley clashes, in which 20 soldiers had laid down their lives.