E-Paper
'Jawab do, Modi...': Congress slams PM over China's Tawang incursion
Arunachal Pradesh Tawang news: On December 9 Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Tawang sector, and India responded to China's incursions in a 'firm and resolute' manner.
Amid opposition parties' political fury over Chinese soldiers' attempts last week to transgress the LAC (line of actual control) in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang, the Congress has demanded prime minister Narendra Modi explain his 'relationship' with that country. The party tweeted a graphic claiming Chinese state-run media Global Times said '(if) Modi loses Gujarat then that will have a negative effect on China' and added the hashtag '#JawabDoModi'.
"What is your relation with China... #JawabDoModi (answer, Modi)..." the Congress declared; the 'JawabDoModi' cry was also raised by the party in 2014, when opposition parties united to criticise Modi for not sacking then union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti over alleged hate speech.
Fast forward to 2022 and 'JawabDoModi' rings out again, this time over China's blatantly illegal attempt to change the status quo in the north-eastern state.
The Tawang clash
On December 9 Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Tawang sector. India responded to China's incursions in a 'firm and resolute' manner and forced a retreat, the government said. The Indian Air Force had also been called to action; defence sources told news agency ANI 'in the last few weeks there have been occasions when our jets had to be scrambled…' to tackle enemy drones.
READ | Jat regiment, Indian Army's 2 other units took on China troops in Arunachal | 10 points
Defence minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament there were no fatalities - unlike the June 20202Galwan Valley clash - and no serious injuries to Indian soldiers.
The scuffle, though, provoked outrage in Parliament and accusations by the Congress that the prime minister and the government were 'hiding the truth'. The party said Singh's account was 'incomplete' and - in jibes reminiscent of those during the Galwan incident - claimed that the Modi government had remained a 'mute spectator' to China's actions as it crossed borders.
Congress reacts
The Congress was joined by other opposition MPs, including those from the Communist Party, the Shiv Sena, the RJD and the SP, in staging a walk-out.
Opposition parties walked out of the Rajya Sabha again Wednesday morning.
New Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge referred to the Galwan clash. The party has often targeted Modi and the government over its assertion that the Galwan incident did not result in India giving up any territory to its neighbour.
READ | 'Taught them a lesson': PM Modi on Galwan stand-off with China
The face-off in Tawang was mirrored by one in Parliament Tuesday, with the BJP and Congress each accusing the other of evading serious issues.
The Congress said the BJP had raised the issue of FCRA cancellation of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) to divert public attention and the BJP said the Congress was using Tawang to hide from those questions.
The FCRA controversy
The cancelling of FCRA registration for the RGF is linked to all of this because union home minister Amit Shah has claimed the licence was cancelled in October last year - due to RGF funds from the Chinese embassy - approx. ₹1.35 crore - and banned Islamist preacher Zakir Naik - approx. ₹50 lakh.
Shah demanded to know the 'China-Congress connection'.
READ | Cong disrupted Parliament to skirt RGF issue: Amit Shah
The home minister also accused the Congress (which was then in power) of allowing China to grab Indian territory after the 1962 war between the nations.
On the border issue, Shah made it clear in parliament 'BJP will not allow any incursion... we will not leave an inch of land… soldiers saved our land'.
