Accusing the Narendra Modi government of a “very weak response” after China renamed 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh, the Congress on Tuesday asked why the Modi government cannot utter a word against China if it can display a “muscular” attitude on Katchatheevu.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, senior leader and Lok Sabha member Manish Tewari slammed the BJP for its campaign against former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi. Hitting out at the BJP for suggesting that Mrs Gandhi gifted Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka, Mr. Tewari said it was laughable to suggest this about a Prime Minister who divided Pakistan into two parts and did not care about threats from the United States.
“It is ridiculous to imagine that the Prime Minister who changed the geography of South Asia would give any territorial concessions to any other country,” Mr. Tewari said.
On China renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh, Mr. Tewari said, “This is a cartographic aggression and we have such a weak response.”
Hitting out at the Centre, he said: “Those who have been espousing misplaced muscularity about Katchatheevu, it is unfortunate and regrettable that they are scared of even uttering the word China.”
Mr. Tewari said since the Galwan clash, the Union government has been weak in responding to China’s aggressive stance and cited a paper presented by a senior police official, the former Senior Superintendent of Police in Leh, in which she had said that India did not have access 26 of the 65 joint patrolling posts along the LAC.
“One-and-a-half years have passed, the government has not reacted to what a senior officer of the government revealed,” he said.
Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, in a post on X, also targeted the government over its double standards. He said the BJP’s stance would put 25 lakh Sri Lankan Tamils and 10 lakh Indian Tamils living in Sri Lanka in a problem.
“Any untruthful and belligerent statement on Kachchatheevu after 50 years will bring the Sri Lankan government and the 35 lakh Tamils into confrontation. Let the government show its belligerence to China,” Mr. Chidambaram said in his post.
“Under the BJP government, China has occupied 2,000 square km of Indian territory and is fortifying the area. China is on a re-naming spree and is merrily changing the names of villages and landmarks. Why is the Foreign Minister subdued in his response to the actions of China,” he asked.
