Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar on Saturday slammed Rahul Gandhi for his comments on border dispute with China and said that the national security matters should not be politicized and one should remember that what happened in the 1962 war when China grabbed large tracts of land that was belonging to India.
Pawar’s statement was in response to the allegation of Rahul Gandhi against the Central government of surrendering against the Chinese forces. The Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi is continuously taunting the center since the violent clashes in the Galwan valley took place. The party wants PM Modi to clarify whether China has infiltrated India in Ladakh or not.
However, PM Modi had officially made a statement in this regard and confirmed that no Chinese invasion happened in the Indian Territory. On this, NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar said that this happened for the first time in the 1962 war when the Chinese grabbed a large part of Indian territory. While speaking to the reporters in Satara, he said, “We cannot forget what had happened in 1962 when China occupied 45,000 square kilometers of India’s territory. While making these allegations, one should also look at what had happened in the past. This is an issue of national interest and once should not bring in politics here.”
Talking about the Aksai Chin region the Sharad Pawar also said that the center cannot be blamed for the standoff at Galwan valley. He said, “Our soldiers tried to push back Chinese army men when they tried to encroach upon Indian soil. To say this is the failure of anyone or of the defence minister isn’t correct. Had our army not been on alert, we wouldn’t have known Chinese assertion.”
He further added, “The scuffle itself means that we were vigilant else we would have been caught unaware. Hence, I don’t think such allegations are fair to make.” NCP supremo also mentioned the agreement between India and China that states that both the nations will not use any guns on the LAC.
Sharad Pawar’s NCP is an ally with the Congress in the Shiv Sena led Maha Vikas Aghadi government of Maharashtra.
It is notable that on 15 June 2020, 20 Indian Army soldiers laid their lives in service of the nation during the violent clash in Galwan valley. Since then Rahul Gandhi is trying to give it a political angle.