Sack Rahul Gandhi for "Chinese beating up Indian soldiers" remark: BJP

New Delhi: BJP Saturday said Congress should expel Rahul Gandhi from party for his remark that Chinese are beating up Indian soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh.

“Jaichands like Rahul Gandhi shouldn't even try to break the morale of our brave army. Today's India is not that of 1962,” said BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia in a press conference.

Bhatia said if Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is not "remote-controlled" and if the opposition party stands with the country, then Gandhi should be expelled for his comments, which "belittle" India and break the morale of its armed forces.

If Mallikarjun Kharge is not "remote-controlled" and if Congress stands with the country, then he should expel Rahul Gandhi for saying Chinese PLA is beating up Indian soldiers, says @gauravbh of @BJP4India #RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/WueezukdD3

— NewsDrum (@thenewsdrum) December 17, 2022

At a press conference in Jaipur on Friday during his "Bharat Jodo Yatra", Gandhi claimed that China is preparing for a war and accused the government of trying to "ignore" the threat, saying it is "asleep" and not ready to accept the situation.

In an apparent reference to a recent clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh, he said Indian jawans in the region are being "beaten up".

Bhatia told reporters that if the Congress does not act against Gandhi, its former president who continues to be seen as its main driving force, it will mean that his statement is reflective of the opposition party's mindset.

The Congress has become less of a political party and more of a den of anti-India activities, the BJP leader alleged.

Gandhi on Friday claimed that China is preparing for war and accused the government of trying to "ignore" this threat, saying it was "asleep" and not ready to accept the situation. Gandhi also said that Chinese PLA is beating Indian soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh.

Addressing a press conference in Jaipur on the completion of 100 days of the Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi also hit out at External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, saying he keeps making remarks but needs to "deepen his understanding." 

Gandhi also slammed the media, saying he is sure that reporters would ask him about everything from Sachin Pilot to Ashok Gehlot amid the tussle between the two leaders in Rajasthan, but not a question on Chinese PLA beating Indian soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh.

"I can see the threat of China very clearly. I have been clear on this for the last two-three years, but the government is trying to hide it and ignore it. This threat can neither be hidden nor ignored. Their (China's) full offensive preparation is going on...the Indian government is asleep," Gandhi said, referring to conflicts on the borders of Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh.

"The government does not want to listen to this but their (China's) preparation is on. The preparation is for war. It is not for incursion, but for war. If you look at their weapon pattern, what they are doing -- they are preparing for war. Our government hides this and is not able to accept it," the former Congress chief said.

He alleged that this is happening because the BJP-led government does event-based work and does not work strategically.

"They think in terms of event management, but where geostrategy is involved, event-based action does not work, power works. I have said three-four times that we should be careful and should understand what is happening," Gandhi said.

"They keep making statements. I see the external affairs minister keeps making remarks. I should not say it, but he should deepen his understanding." 

Gandhi's criticism came on a day when Eastern Army commander Lt General R P Kalita said border areas along the country’s northern frontier are “stable” and that the Indian Armed forces remain “firmly in control”. 

"We are prepared for all eventualities and all contingencies." 

Lt Gen Kalita's assertion on India's preparedness came a week after Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed at the border area of Yangtze, to the north east of the monastery town of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, which had been invaded by China’s PLA in 1962.

Stating that there are different perceptions of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by the Indian Army and China's People’s Liberation Army(PLA) at several points, he said eight of these areas are acknowledged by both sides.

Kalita said the PLA transgressed in one of these areas in the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh, which was "very firmly contested" by Indian forces on ground.

"Presently, would like to assure everybody that the border areas along the northern frontier are stable and we are firmly in control," the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Eastern Command said.

The Army commander said that as military men, the Armed forces are always prepared to safeguard the nation, "whether in peace or in conflict", asserting that primary task of the defence forces is to ensure territorial integrity of the country against any external or internal threat.

Maintaining that there were some minor injuries to soldiers of both sides in the Tawang clashes, he said local commanders were able to resolve the issue by carrying out negotiations resorting to existing protocols.

"It led to some amount of physical violence, but it was contained at the local level resorting to existing bilateral mechanisms and protocols." He said this was followed by a flag meeting at the delegation level at Bumla, wherein the issue was resolved further.

To a question whether there was any incursion by China or any land in Arunachal was being held by India’s northern neighbour, the Army commander said “the short answer is no.”

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