Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has once again raised the India-China border issue, criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his handling of the situation. Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington DC, USA, on Tuesday, Gandhi alleged that Chinese troops have occupied 4,000 square kilometers of Indian territory in Ladakh, an area the size of Delhi.
"If you call having Chinese troops in 4,000 square kilometres of our territory handling something well, then maybe we have got Chinese troops occupying land the size of Delhi in Ladakh. I think that's a disaster," he remarked.
Gandhi further claimed that the media has largely ignored the issue, stating, "How would America react if a neighbour occupied 4000 square kilometres of your territory? Would any president be able to get away with saying that he's handled that well?".
He further added, "So I don't think PM Modi handled China well at all. I think there's no reason Chinese troops should be sitting in our territory".
Gandhi, however, at the same time, highlighted the importance of India and the US working together to offer the world an alternative to China’s "non-democratic production vision". The Amethi MP stressed the bipartisan support that the India-US relationship enjoys in both nations and expressed confidence in its future. He noted that there would be "continuity" in the Congress government's approach to India-US ties, stating, “I don’t see ourselves changing direction very much from what Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing".
This isn't the first time the Congress leader has made such allegations. Last year, during a visit to Ladakh, the Congress leader accused PM Modi of misleading the Opposition about the situation at the India-China border, asserting that China had seized thousands of square kilometers of Indian land. He referred to PM Modi's comments from a June 2020 all-party meeting, where the Prime Minister stated that no Indian territory had been captured, following a deadly clash between Indian and Chinese forces in Ladakh's Galwan Valley.
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