On Monday, September 11, Lt Governor of Ladakh, Retired Brig. (Dr.) BD Mishra lashed out at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for his claims about a huge portion of Ladakh being occupied by China. Rahul Gandhi has time and again tried to peddle lies about the Indian-China dispute to claim that China has occupied a massive portion of the Indian territory.
Lt Governor of Ladakh Brig. (Dr.) BD Mishra (Retd.) refuted the claims and said that not even a square inch of Indian land has been occupied by China.
“I wouldn’t comment on anybody’s statement but I will say what is fact because I have seen myself. There is not even one square inch of land which the Chinese have occupied…The statement of fact is that our armed forces are prepared for any eventuality and God forbid if the balloon goes up, people will get a bloody nose from us,” he said while talking to the media today.
#WATCH | On Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's claim that a large portion of Ladakh has been occupied by China, Lt Governor of Ladakh Brig. (Dr.) B.D. Mishra (Retd.) says, "I wouldn't comment on anybody's statement but I will say what is fact because I have seen myself. There is not even… pic.twitter.com/BJwWhlYBnj
— ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2023
Congress’ Rahul Gandhi has always issued misleading statements on the India-China dispute and has claimed that Prime Minister Modi has ‘surrendered the Indian territory to the Chinese aggression.’ In June 2020, he also said that the Galwan Valley territory in Ladakh was grabbed by the Chinese.
PM Modi then stated that no part of Indian territory was taken over by the Chinese. “No one entered Indian territory, nor were Indian posts taken over. 20 jawans did die, but they taught a lesson to those who had cast their evil eyes on Bharat Mata (India),” the PM was quoted as saying.
Also in July 2020, Gandhi launched a baseless attack on the PM repeating his lies and claiming that the PM was lying on the border issue. He refused to believe that Indian soldiers had evicted Chinese soldiers from their unauthorized positions along the LAC and that there was no Chinese incursion inside the LAC. He also posted testimonials from people of Ladakh who claimed that the Chinese had occupied the Indian territory.
OpIndia had exposed how Congress had published a fake video claiming that the people speaking in the said video were not from Ladakh. They belonged to groups and political parties associated with the Congress.
Recently in June this year, Gandhi again peddled lies while he was in the United States. While addressing the press at the National Press Club, Washington DC in the United States, Gandhi spoke about the Indian-China dispute to claim that China had occupied Indian territory.
China has occupied our territory, and it's an accepted fact. They have occupied 1500 sq km of land, and it is absolutely unacceptable. However, PM Modi believes otherwise.
— All India Mahila Congress (@MahilaCongress) June 1, 2023
: Shri @RahulGandhi
📍National Press Club, Washington DC, USA pic.twitter.com/yMOvqUTOmI
When asked about India’s relationship with China and about the Indian government’s statement saying ‘not an inch of Indian land has been occupied by China’, Rahul Gandhi claimed that China has occupied 1500 sq km of land and it’s a fact.
“The fact of the matter is that China is occupying our territory. It’s an accepted fact. I think 1500 sq km of land, land of the size of Delhi is occupied by China and I think that is absolutely unacceptable. Prime Minister seems to believe otherwise. I don’t know, maybe he knows something we don’t know,” Gandhi could be heard saying in the video.
Further on August 30, Gandhi claimed to have talked to the locals of Ladakh who ‘confirmed’ to him that the Chinese had taken over the Indian land. He also said that PM Modi had lied about China’s acquisition of the Indian territory.
“I spent a week in Ladakh. I went to Pangong Lake right in front of where the Chinese were. I had detailed discussions, probably the most detailed discussions that any politician outside Ladakh has had with the people of Ladakh. They categorically told me that the Chinese had taken Indian land. They categorically told me that the PM is lying about the fact that the Chinese have not taken Indian land,” Rahul Gandhi was quoted as saying.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian Army have time and again stated that not an inch of Indian land belongs to China.
In January this year, the External Affairs Minister slammed the Congress party for deliberately spreading misinformation regarding India-China relations. This is after Rahul Gandhi claimed last September that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given 100 square kilometers of Indian territory to China without a fight.
Jaishankar then slammed saying that “some people deliberately spread wrong news about the China issue knowing it is not true for politics and by talking about some land, which was taken by China in 1962, they give the impression this happened recently.”
He also pressed that some people in the opposition were deliberately trying to spread wrong news or information about China on purpose. “Sometimes, they talk about some land, which was taken by China in 1962. But they will not tell you the truth. They will give you the impression that this thing happened yesterday,” he had reiterated.
It is notable that China occupied large chunks of Indian territory in 1962, and continues to illegally occupy these areas. But the Congress party and some media houses keep claiming from time to time that those are recent developments, which is completely false. Although regular skirmishes take place between Indian and Chinese forces, and the Chinese military often enters Indian territory, the Line of Actual Control largely remains unchanged.
