A day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and former defence minister Sharad Pawar asked the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi ‘to not politicise’ the India-China border clashes, state Congress leaders tried to downplay the entire issue by terming Pawar’s statement as ‘unclear’.
State Congress chief and state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, on Sunday, said that it is not clear what Pawar has said. “By using just one of his comments, the media should not draw any conclusions and rush to give a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We lost 20 soldiers in the Galwan valley face off. Yet, PM Modi said there was no intrusion by China. Taking advantage of this Chinese are calling our martyrs as intruders. I am sure that even Pawarsaheb is as saddened by this as we are this as are,” he said
Pawar, on Saturday in Satara, had virtually chided Rahul Gandhi for attempting to politicise an issue concerning national security and reminded how China occupied 45,000 sq km of the Indian territory in 1962. “Let us not forget what happened in 1962 when China occupied 45,000 sq km of Indian territory. While levelling such allegations, one must also think what happened in the past,” he had said.
Thorat said, “The Congress party is with the government on the China issue, but that doesn’t mean that questions shouldn’t be asked on the issues of national interest. The questions raised by Rahul Gandhiji on border security is not politics, but discharging of our responsibility given to us by the people. We cannot compare the 1962 situation with that with what is happening today.”
{{/usCountry}}Thorat said, “The Congress party is with the government on the China issue, but that doesn’t mean that questions shouldn’t be asked on the issues of national interest. The questions raised by Rahul Gandhiji on border security is not politics, but discharging of our responsibility given to us by the people. We cannot compare the 1962 situation with that with what is happening today.”
{{/usCountry}}Congress is a junior partner in Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi ruled state government with Shiv Sena and NCP.
Throat said that PM Modi did not utter a single word regarding the Chinese aggression in his Man Ki Baat on Sunday even after the concerns raised by Gandhi over the country’s integrity. “It is not the time to keep quiet. The BJP should not consider the Congress suggestions as politics. If it is about the country’s integrity, Rahulji and the Congress will continue to ask questions,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress has raised questions over the funding to the PM Cares Fund by leading Chinese companies.
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