'Indian Source Or Chinese?': Kiren Rijiju Lambasts Rahul Gandhi After SC Pulls Him Up Over 'Chinese Land Grab' Remark

Delhi: Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Monday lambasted Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for his remarks on Chinese occupation of Indian territory and asked if he relied on an official source of the government of India or any Chinese source to get the information on the matter.

Speaking to mediapersons in Delhi, Rijiju said, "There are only three possibilities. One is the government of India or the army itself, if they provide evidence, that should be treated as an official document. That is a proper way of getting the information. The government has already given the information about how well our territory is being secured. Second possibility is Rahul Gandhi might have got the information from the Chinese government or the Chinese authority. Or third is a self-fabricated, self-created, self-cooked story. So, Rahul Gandhi has to tell whether his claim of Chinese occupation of Indian territory is from a government of India source, a Chinese source or is his own creation."

Kiren Rijiju said that the Supreme Court "rebuked" Rahul Gandhi for his "unsubstantiated" claims.

"Supreme Court has straightforward rebuked Rahul Gandhi for making unsubstantiated claim that thousands of square kms of Indian territory has been occupied by the Chinese Army. This kind of statement from the LoP is extremely harmful for the nation, and it demoralises our forces," he said.

"We have been making appeals to Rahul Gandhi not to make such unsubstantiated statements, but he doesn't listen to us. I am very happy that at least SC has now given him a warning. It is a straightforward rebuke that, as an Indian, Rahul Gandhi should not speak like that. This is a very strong statement," he added.

Supreme Court Pulls Up Rahul Gandhi

The Supreme Court on Monday reprimanded Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged remarks on the Indian Army after a clash between the Indian and Chinese armies in Yangsi region of Arunachal Pradesh in 2022.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih expressed disapproval of Gandhi's remarks, saying how does he know the Chinese occupied 2000 square kilometres of land and said that a true Indian wouldn't say such a thing.

Justice Datta said, "How do you get to know that 2000 square kilometres of Indian territory was occupied by China? What is the credible material? If you are a true Indian, you would not say this. When there is a conflict across borders... can you say all this?"

The bench also asked senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi, why Gandhi didn't say all this in Parliament and why on social media.

"Whatever you have to say, why don't you say it in the Parliament? Why do you have to say this in the social media posts?" asked Justice Datta.

Rahul Gandhi's Statement On Chinese Occupation Of Indian Territory

Gandhi, on December 16, 2022, during his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in the presence of media persons and a large gathering of the public, spoke regarding a face-off that took place between the Indian Army and the Chinese Army at the border of India in Arunachal Pradesh on December 9, 2022.

Gandhi had said, "People will ask about Bharat Jodo Yatra, here and there, Ashok Gahlot and Sachin Pilot and whatnot. But they will not ask a single question about China capturing 2000 square kilometres of Indian territory, killing 20 Indian soldiers and thrashing our soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh. But the Indian press doesn't ask a question to them about this. Isn't it true? The nation is watching all this. Don't pretend that people don't know."

The complainant had said that the statement given by Gandhi was made as an attempt to demoralise the Indian Army. Gandhi's statement is false and baseless and it was given with an evil intention of demoralising the Indian Army and to damage the faith of the Indian population on the Indian Army, whereas the truth is that in the scuffle that took place in Yangsi region Arunachal Pradesh on December 9, 2022, the Indian Army successfully restrained the Chinese Army from entering the territory protected by it and badly chased them away, Srivastava said in his complaint.

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