Rahul Gandhi brags on LAC: 'Cong govt would've thrown China out in less than 15 mins'

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for denying the alleged presence of Chinese troops on Indian soil. Contending that the PM could not be termed as a "patriot", he made an incredulous claim that China had snatched away 1200 sq. km of the country's land. Addressing a rally in Haryana, Gandhi bragged that the Armed Forces would have pushed out China in less than 15 minutes if the Congress party was in the power at the Centre. The PM and other Union Ministers have consistently dismissed Gandhi's charge of China occupying Indian territory. 

Ex-Congress president Rahul Gandhi remarked, "I want to guarantee you that China did not have the guts to enter Indian territory. There is only one country in the world in which another country's Army entered, snatched 1200 sq. km. of land and the coward PM says that no one has occupied any territory. The only country like this is India. And these people called themselves patriots. PM calls himself a patriot but the entire country knows that the Chinese Army is inside the country. What kind of a patriot is he? If our government was in power, we would have thrown out China in less than 15 minutes. Our IAF would push them 100 km behind. This PM does not understand the strength of the country."

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The LAC faceoff

The faceoff at the Line of Actual Control was exacerbated when 20 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred in the Galwan Valley on June 15 when the de-escalation process was underway. This was followed by multiple attempts of provocation by the Chinese side at the end of August. Multiple rounds of Corps Commander-level and WMCC meetings have taken place between the two sides to resolve the crisis. In September, both Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met their respective Chinese counterparts in Moscow.

Making a statement on the LAC situation in the Lok Sabha on September 15, Rajnath Singh elaborated that there were friction points in Eastern Ladakh, Gogra, Kongka La and Pangong Lake's north and south banks. Singh conceded that the LAC boundary issue remains unresolved due to the reluctance of China to recognise the traditional and customary alignment of the border. Moreover, he added that China is in the illegal occupation of 38,000 sq. km in Ladakh apart from 5,180 sq. km of Indian territory in PoK ceded by Pakistan in 1963.

Read: How India’s Strategic, Military And Economic Moves Put China On The Backfoot