Rahul Gandhi attacks PM on reports of Chinese village in Arunachal

PTI, Jan 19, 2021, 11:19 AM IST

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of national security after reports that China has built a village in Arunachal Pradesh.

“Remember his promise – ‘मैं देश झुकने नहीं दूँगा’ (Will not let the country bow),” Gandhi said on Twitter as he posted a link of a news report about the alleged “Chinese village”.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala also slammed the prime minister on the matter.

“Modiji where is that 56-inch chest,” he asked on Twitter.

In a cautious reaction to the reports, India had on Monday said it keeps a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on the country’s security, and takes necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Congress leader P Chidambaram had on Monday demanded answers from the government on the issue, alleging that BJP MP Tapir Gao has claimed that China has built a 100-house village in the “disputed area” deep into Arunachal Pradesh.

He said if the allegation made out by the BJP MP is true, will the government again give a clean chit to China or will blame the previous governments for it.

“Mr Tapir Gao MP, belonging to BJP, has alleged that deep into Arunachal Pradesh, in a ‘disputed area’ within Indian territory, the Chinese have built a 100-house village, a bazaar and a two-lane road in the last year.

If this is true, it is clear that the Chinese have altered the status quo by converting a disputed area into a permanent settlement of Chinese nationals. What has the government to say about these startling facts,” he had said on Twitter.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC). China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet, while India contests it.

India and China are locked in a bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh for over eight months.

India and China have held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks in order to resolve the eastern Ladakh standoff, but no significant headway has been made for its resolution.