Congress says PM's response on China is "ineffective and feeble"

The Congress on Thursday, 11 April targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "ineffective and feeble" response to China for its border transgressions, and demanded that he apologises to 140 crore Indians for his June 2020 statement that no one has entered India nor has anyone occupied any post.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that in his interview to Newsweek magazine, "the Prime Minister was at his cowardly worst".

In a post on X, he said the PM's only comment on China's repeated infringements on Indian sovereignty was that the India-China border situation needs to be addressed urgently to resolve the "abnormality" in the bilateral interactions.

"The prime minister had a chance to send a powerful message to China. However, his ineffective and feeble response is likely to only encourage China further in asserting its claim on Indian territory," Ramesh said.

"The prime minister's reaction to the China issue is not only disgraceful but also disrespectful to our martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice in defending our borders," he said.

"The prime minister should apologise to the 140 crore Indians for deceiving them on national television on June 19th, 2020, with his statement 'Na Koi Ghusa Hai, Na Hi Koi Ghus Aaya hai' and keeping the nation in dark about his failures in protecting the borders with China," the Congress leader also said.

In an interview with Newsweek magazine, which described India's rise as "unstoppable", Prime minister Modi has asserted that stable and peaceful relations between India and China are important for the entire region and the world, and expressed hope that through positive and constructive bilateral engagement at the diplomatic and military levels, the two countries will be able to restore and sustain peace and tranquillity at their borders.

The New York-based magazine said India's "rapid upward economic trajectory and increasing diplomatic, scientific and military weight make it an emerging superpower of ever-growing importance to the United States and the world".

During the wide-ranging interview carried by the magazine under the headline "Narendra Modi and the Unstoppable Rise of India", the prime minister talked about a host of issues, including the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, ties with Pakistan, Quad, Ram temple and democracy, among others.

In the interview, which is the first to be given to a US magazine in the recent past, Modi said for India, the relationship with China is important and significant.

"It is my belief that we need to urgently address the prolonged situation on our borders so that the abnormality in our bilateral interactions can be put behind us. Stable and peaceful relations between India and China are important for not just our two countries but the entire region and world," he said.

"I hope and believe that through positive and constructive bilateral engagement at the diplomatic and military levels, we will be able to restore and sustain peace and tranquillity in our borders," Modi said.