BJP, Congress engage in war of words over 'Chinese village' in Arunachal Pradesh

With Congress seeking to corner the government over reports about China building a village in Arunachal Pradesh, BJP on Tuesday dug up past events and reminded Rahul Gandhi of loss of Indian territory during 1962 Indo-China war when Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister.

"When will Rahul Gandhi, his dynasty and Congress stop lying on China? Can he deny that thousands of kilometres, including the one in Arunachal Pradesh he is referring to, was gifted by none other than Pandit Nehru to the Chinese? Time and again, why does Congress surrender to China?" BJP chief JP Nadda said on Twitter.

The ruling party also targeted Rahul's father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi when Rahul questioned the ruling party over national security issue with a tweet saying, "Remember his promise - "Mai desh jhukne nahi dunga" (I will not let the country bow down)," which he posted with a link of a news report about the alleged "Chinese village".

This was one of the most popular slogans of BJP, led by Narendra Modi ahead of 2014 Lok Sabha polls, as the nationalism plank had immensely benefited the saffron party then. In the last six years, Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly sought to corner the government on its national security agenda, citing various incidents of border skirmishes with China and terror activities sponsored from across the border in Pakistan.

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Other Congress leaders also joined in to berate the government on the issue. While AICC chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked "Modiji where is that 56-inch chest?", former Union Minister Manish Tewari termed the incident of China reportedly building a village in Arunachal Pradesh a "very very serious" affair. "Not troops but a whole village ! For God sake. @PMOIndia or @rajnathsingh Ji must tell the nation as to whether this is true or false?" he said on Twitter.

Following some media reports about the alleged "Chinese village" inside Indian territory, the Ministry of External Affairs had on Monday said that the Government 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.

Noting the reports on China undertaking construction work along the border areas with India, the MEA in a statement said that China has undertaken such infrastructure construction activity in the past several years.

Later the Congress raked up the issue and trained guns on the Modi government latching on to a remark by BJP MP Tapir Gao, who said that China has built a 100-house village in the "disputed area" deep into Arunachal Pradesh.

Read: Congress leaders laugh at Rahul Gandhi's remarks, says Narendra Singh Tomar

"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," former Home Minister P Chidambaram said.

On Tuesday, the state unit of Arunachal Pradesh BJP put out a video in which Gao said, "The build-up and construction in this area by the Chinese are not new. They began and went unchecked under the Congress regime. The then Army Chief planned Operation Pelicon to push out the PLA but Rajiv Gandhi denied him permission."

In another offensive counter, the BJP went for an all-out attack on the Nehru-Gandhi family. "Why does he (Rahul) not answer in China? Who gave away land to China? Under whose rule did Aksai Chin go out of India's hands? Who took money from China for a private trust? Who gave away India's UNSC permanent seat to China?", Union Minister Prakash Javadekar asked.

BJP also revived the previous attack by the ruling party on Rahul Gandhi on the issue of MoU with Communist Party of China, which was in past clarified by the Congress.

"Does Rahul Gandhi have any intention to cancel the Congress Party MoU with China and their Communist Party? Does he intend to return the Chinese largesse to trusts controlled by his family? Or will their policies and practices continue to be dictated by Chinese money and MoU?," Nadda asked.