On Sunday (August 20), Union Minister Kiren Rijiju thanked Congress scion Rahul Gandhi for highlighting the drastic improvement of Ladakh under the Narendra Modi government.
The development came a day after the Congress scion went on a bike expedition to Pangong Lake from Leh and posted pictures of his trip on Instagram. While taking potshots at Rahul Gandhi, Kiren Rijiju said, “Thanks to Rahul Gandhi for promoting excellent roads of Ladakh built by the Narendra Modi govt.”
He added, “Earlier, he also showcased how Tourism is booming in Kashmir Valley & reminded all that our “National Flag” can be peacefully hoisted at Lal Chowk in Srinagar now!”
The BJP Minister pointed out how roads had improved since 2012 when the film ‘Jab Tak hai Jaan’ hit the theatres. “Some people shared Shah Rukh Khan starrer 2012 Film to prove that roads existed then too. I thank them for amplifying the proof,” he wrote.
“As one can clearly see in Shah Rukh pic that even roads along Indus river were rough and not aligned geometrically, forget the roads in high passes,” Kiren Rijiju further emphasised.
He also shared the video clip of a 2013 speech by then Defence Minister and Congress leader AK Antony that the government’s policy had been to not carry out development work alongside the international border.
“The independent India had a policy for many years that the best defence is to not develop the border…Undeveloped Borders Are More Safe Than Developed Borders. So for many years, there was no construction Of roads or airfields on the border areas,” the veteran Congress leader told the Parliament on September 6, 2013.
“By that time, China continued to develop their infrastructure in the border areas. So, as a result, they have gone ahead of us,” AK Antony had conceded.
On Saturday (August 19), Rahul Gandhi took a bike trip from Leh to Pangong Tso. He shared several images with the caption, “On our way to Pangong lake, which my father used to say, is one of the most beautiful places in the world.”