Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday mounted another attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accusing him of misreporting the death toll from the Galwan valley clash.
His jibes came in response to Gandhi’s speech in Parliament earlier this week suggesting that the BJP-led government had brought all-weather allies China and Pakistan together against India. India and China have been in a prolonged standoff at various points on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.
Speaking while campaigning for the BJP’s candidate in Dasuya constituency of Punjab, Singh said that Indian soldiers had made the supreme sacrifice in the Galwan Valley and thwarted the designs of the Chinese army.
“Our soldiers laid down their lives but didn’t let China occupy an inch of India’s land. He (Rahul) had said that India lost more soldiers, while only four soldiers of China lost their lives in Galwan. Would you believe China’s official newspaper Global Times? Now, a leading Australian paper has reported that China reported 38-40 casualties. When our jawans were fighting Chinese soldiers in Galwan, you (Rahul) were busy meeting with the Chinese ambassador in Delhi,” Singh said.
Singh hit out at Gandhi saying illegal occupations took place during tenures of his great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru and grandmother Indira Gandhi.
“There are some powers who speak whatever comes to their mind. Does Rahul not know history? Pakistan handed over the Shaksgam Valley to China and at that time Nehru was the Prime Minister of India.
Not only that, the Karakoram highway was constructed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir when the Prime Minister of India was not from the BJP but Indira Gandhi of the Congress. And you (Rahul) say that Pakistan and China came closer due to BJP’s wrong foreign policies? Work on the China and Pakistan economic corridor began during the Congress rule,” Singh said at an event.
“I will seek an apology from my Congress friends. Whatever Rahul Gandhi said on the floor of Parliament has deeply hurt us. He has tried to distort historic facts and wrongly accused the BJP-led central government,” SIngh added.
Singh paid tribute to the sacrifices of soldiers. “We have a Sikh regiment in our army and its courage is inspiring. As compared to its population, Sikhs have made the maximum sacrifices for the country, including in the army,” he said.
There were many global powers attempting to disturb communal harmony in Punjab, Singh said.
He urged the people to support the National Democratic Alliance, including the BJP, Punjab Lok Congress of Captain Amarinder Singh and Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) of Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had repealed the three farm laws and also offered an apology to the farmers for failing to convince them about the benefits of the new laws.
On the Aam Aadmi Party, he said: “There are slogans about AAP in Punjab, but why not Punjabi in Punjab? See how they are running the government in Delhi. They only focus on advertisements and freebies.”
He also called for strict punishment against perpetrators of the sacrilege incidents in Punjab.
