In a video, Rahul Gandhi weighs in reasons behind India-China border standoff

Rahul Gandhi talked about several aspects of the government’s policies that he said the Centre has destroyed over the last six years and resulted in the present action by the Chinese.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday gave three reasons behind China’s aggressive stance against India as both the neighbours have clashed on its border in eastern Ladakh in the last few months taking their ties to a new low.

Rahul Gandhi explained in the 3:38-minute video that countries are protected not by one particular thing but “by a confluence of forces and by a confluence of systems”. (ANI)

Rahul Gandhi talked about several aspects of the government’s policies that he said the Centre has destroyed over the last six years and resulted in the present action by the Chinese.

“Since 2014, the PM’s constant blunders and indiscretions have fundamentally weakened India and left us vulnerable. Empty words don’t suffice in the world of geopolitics,” Gandhi tweeted on Friday.

Watch: Rahul Gandhi explains why China felt confident to move against India

The former Congress president also posted a video to talk about the reasons he said have allowed the Chinese to have “the confidence that they can move against a country like India”.

Gandhi explained in the 3:38-minute video that countries are protected not by one particular thing but “by a confluence of forces and by a confluence of systems”.

“A country is protected by its foreign relationships, it is protected by its neighbourhood, it is protected by its economy, it is protected by the feeling that its people have and the vision its people have. What has happened over the last six years that on all those areas India has been disturbed and disrupted,” he said.

Talking about the government’s foreign policy, he said India’s relationship with the outside world used to be with multiple countries. India, he said, had a strategic partnership with the United States and a relationship with Russia and Europe.

“These countries used to help us manoeuver in the world. Today, our relationship has become transactional… We have a transactional relationship with the United States. We have disturbed our relationship with the Russians and we have a transactional relationship with Europe,” Gandhi said.

The Congress leader then slammed the government for disrupting the country’s relationship with its immediate neighbours like Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka among others.

“Our neighbourhood other than Pakistan was working with India and saw itself as being partnered with India. If you speak to the Nepali people, they are furious with what has happened. Sri Lankans have given a port to Chinese. The Maldives is disturbed. Bhutan is disturbed,” he said.

He also talked about India’s economy, which is said is now “an absolute disaster”, in the video interspersed with graphics and news reports.

“Our pride. Something that India used to go to the rest of the world and talk about, boast about. Worst economic growth in 50 years, no Indian site, an absolute disaster, unemployment is the highest in 40-50 years,” said Gandhi.

“Our strengths have suddenly become our weaknesses.”

He said the Congress party urged the government to “please realise that we are becoming vulnerable”.

“We told them and said for god’s sake inject money into the economy, fire the economy and do it immediately. Protect small and medium businesses. They refused to do it,” he said.

“Today you have a country which is economically in trouble, in trouble as far as foreign policy is concerned and in trouble with its neighbours. And that’s why the Chinese have decided that this is possibly the best time to act,” he said.

Earlier this week the Congress lawmaker from Kerala’s Wayanad had said he will launch a video programme on current affairs and history and make them “accessible for those interested in the truth”.

“I want to make our current affairs, history and crisis clear and accessible for those interested in the truth. From tomorrow, I’ll be sharing my thoughts with you on video,” Gandhi had tweeted on July 13.

Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party have been critical of the government over the handling of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) situation with China after 20 Indian Army soldiers, including an officer, were killed on June 15 by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.

He has relentlessly questioned the government over its claim that China did not occupy or intrude into India.