Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has termed “baseless” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations that China had grabbed India’s sovereign territory in Ladakh. Mr. Joshi instead said Mr. Gandhi “should understand” that “whatever land that China had grabbed was during the tenure of [the late Prime Minister] Jawahar Lal Nehru.”
“They are doing some activities in the area that was grabbed during Nehru’s tenure as Prime Minister. This is due to the sins committed by the Congress post-Independence that China has become our neighbour. From the time it was Tibet till today, these people pursued policies which led to this,” Mr. Joshi said. Mr. Gandhi, he said, “does not have any understanding” of the policies, he emphasised.
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Mr. Joshi was reacting to Mr. Gandhi’s remarks that China releasing a “standard map” that laid claim over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin was “very serious” and that China had already claimed India’s land in parts of Ladakh. Mr. Gandhi also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi respond and speak on the issue.
Claim over Arunachal
On Monday, China released the 2023 edition of the so-called “standard map of China” that laid claim over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as regions within its borders.
“Our External Affairs Ministry has already condemned China’s action on the map issue and has also strongly protested it. But he [Mr. Gandhi] does not trust our External Affairs Ministry. He believes in what China says,” Mr. Joshi added.
India on Tuesday lodged a strong protest with China over its so-called “standard map” laying claim over Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin, and asserted that such steps only complicate the resolution of the boundary question. The External Affairs Ministry also rejected these claims as having “no basis.”
