PM actually 'Surender Modi': Rahul Gandhi launches new attack over India-China clash

Going a step further in his line of attack over the India-China faceoff, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi as 'Surender Modi' - playing on but misspelling 'Surrender' - while targeting him on the LAC standoff.

Rahul Gandhi voiced his clear disregard for the appeal made by the Government of India to stay united at a time when international forces are attempting to attack the country's sovereignty and went on to share a report by international news publication - The Japan Times, that alleged that for years Modi 'bent over backward to appease China' and asked if encroachment in Galwan will be 'enough to change India's approach towards China?

This also comes amid statements by MEA and the Indian Army wherein they have maintained that disengagement has taken place at Galwan valley in Eastern Ladakh and have rejected China 'untenable' claim over India's land. Moreover, Government of India also made it clear in the All Party meet - of which Congress was a part - that India has learned from 'past mistakes' and will not allow 'unilateral change at the LAC'. 

Earlier on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and accused the Prime Minister of surrendering the Indian territory to Chinese aggression. In his tweet, he demanded specifics about the location where 20 Indian soldiers were martyred during the faceoff. In a fiery response to his rhetoric, Home Minister Amit Shah shared a message of an injured soldier's father, wherein the old man asked the Gandhi family scion to refrain from politics in matters of Army and security of the country. 

READ | Rahul Gandhi takes new line to target Centre on Galwan clash after 'Why unarmed?' attack

'Get the facts straight': Jaishankar to Rahul Gandhi

Earlier, when Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the Centre asking why were Indian soldiers at the Galwan valley were 'unarmed,' EAM S Jaishankar responded. Telling the Wayanad MP to 'get the facts straight', Jaishankar clarified that the army of both sides cannot use firearms during faceoff as per 1996 and 2005 agreements and are bound to maintain 'peace and tranquillity'. He also added that is why the Indian soldiers refrained.

READ | Galwan Valley face-off: 5 reasons why China shouldn't underestimate India's strength

PM Modi: 'No one has entered India's borders'

Asserting that China is not on Indian soil, PM Modi, on Friday, said that none of India's border posts have been captured, nor had China breached the Indian borders, at the all-party meeting chaired by him to brief political parties on the LAC situation. He added that the 20 martyrs died fighting and saving the motherland from the enemy. He also said that the Army has always done whatever is necessary to protect India's sovereignty - be it deployment action or counteraction.

On Saturday, as Opposition leaders including the likes of Rahul Gandhi, P Chidambaram and Shiv Sena attempted to create controversy over the PM's statement, Government of India released a statement and clarified on PM's statement. Lashing out at 'some quarters' attempting to give 'mischievous interpretation' to remarks made by the PM, the statement said that he had made it clear that 'in contrast to past neglect on border issues', Indian forces now counter every violation.

The statement also clarified on the question asked by Opposition parties including Congress leaders about the reasons for the Galwan faceoff. "As regard transgression of LAC, it was clearly stated that the violence in Galwan on June 15 arose because Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from such actions."

READ | China reiterates sovereignty claim on Galwan valley; accuses Indian Army of crossing LAC