BJP national executive should speak up on India-China border issues, demands Congress

Questioning the silence of the Narendra Modi government's and the BJP on China's aggression on the borders, the Congress on Sunday dubbed the ruling party as "pseudo-nationalist" and asked if it would speak out the truth about the threat on country's borders and China's growing influence in the neighbourhood.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera cited a news report about China getting active and building infrastructure in Chumbi valley which poses a serious threat to the Siliguri corridor that connects the north-eastern states to the rest of the country.

"Today we demand from the so-called national executive of this pseudo nationalists' party to come out and say something on China and share with the country the deadline on when will you be able to push China back from our territory and what are you doing to reduce Chinese influence in our neighbourhood," he told reporters.

He said the developments in Afghanistan are only helping Pakistan and China, while India pays a price for whatever happens in its neighbourhood.

"But, we don't hear a word being spoken by this government," he said.

''This is an occasion to ask the pseudo nationalist whether they will open their mouth and say something on the growing threat from China across all our borders," he asked at a press conference in New Delhi, after the BJP's national executive meeting here.

"Today, we read in the media that Chief of the Eastern Army Command has said that China is getting active and building infrastructure and roads in the Chumbi valley. Chumbi valley directly affects and threatens the Siliguri corridor, the chicken’s neck, which connects our seven north-eastern states with rest of India. It is so strategically important," Khera said.

The Congress leader said that over the last 18 months China has intruded into our territory in Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

"In Uttarakhand, the Chinese soldiers entered, destroyed our bridges and left and now the Siliguri corridor is also endangered. The Prime Minister doesn’t open his mouth, doesn’t listen to these voices from experts, from veterans, from media, from opposition and when he does open his mouth, he issues a clean chit to China.

"The massive price that the country has paid of that clean chit will go down in history as the biggest blunder of this prime minister. Therefore today, on this occasion, when these pseudo-nationalists are assembling here, we draw upon your attention to the fact that China is increasing its influence across all our neighbouring countries," Pawan Khera said.

The Congress had on Saturday sought an apology from Prime Minister Modi and asked him to "withdraw" his "clean chit" to China as it cited a Pentagon report that claims China has entered 4.5 km into Arunachal Pradesh.

He said that trade with China has increased by 67 percent since last year and claimed it reflected the BJP's pseudo nationalism as "they are not concerned about the safety of our borders".

He also cited several instances of growing Chinese influence in the neighbourhood and said China has constructed a highway connecting the Bhutan and Nepal border and signed an MoU with Bhutan and tied up with it directly but the Indian government is silent.

"China is active against our interests and is building ties with the Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka besides Pakistan and is active there, still the Government of India is silent, and is instead giving it a clean chit,"' the Congress leader alleged.

Earlier in the day, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had hit out at the Congress for allegedly quoting a foreign media report to question the "credibility" of the government on the India-China border issue.