Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has drawn flak from the Opposition on the recent Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang, alleging that the saffron party "talks like a lion outside the country, but is acting like a mouse within" because it is unable to confront China.
Speaking at a rally in Rajasthan's Alwar during the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', Kharge also asked while the grand old party stood for the country and helped attain Independence after its leaders gave supreme sacrifices, “has even your dog died for the country".
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"Still they claim to be patriots and if we say something we are termed as deshdrohi (anti-nationals),” the Congress chief said.
Kharge further intensified his attack on the BJP-led central government and asserted that the Modi government boasts itself on being powerful, claiming no one can look into their eyes, but border disagreements and violence are becoming frequent. "After 20 of our soldiers were martyred at the border in Galwan Valley, Modi ji met the Chinese president 18 times. They held meetings and even had swings. After all this, why is it happening at the border with China?" he added.
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{{/usCountry}}Earlier in the day, Kharge raised the issue of the border dispute with China and demanded a discussion in the Parliament. "China is illegally encroaching upon our borders. Satellite imagery shows that they are building divisional headquarters, army garrison and weapon shelters for artillery. Why is the Modi government shying away from 'China pe charcha'?" Kharge tweeted.
The 80-year-old leader said when Rahul Gandhi talked about the border dispute with China, BJP leaders raised the matter alleging that "Rahul ji is trying to break the country and that he has no respect for our soldiers".
(With agency inputs)