‘Beating’ word should not be used for Indian soldiers, S Jaishankar criticises Rahul Gandhi
'China has taken our land. They are beating our soldiers,' Gandhi had said last week.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for using the word “beating” while talking about Indian soldiers after their recent transgression with Chinese soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh, NDTV reported.
“We have no problems if there are political differences,” Jaishankar said in the Lok Sabha, according to NDTV. “We shouldn’t directly or indirectly criticise our jawans. Our jawans are standing in Yangtse at 13,000 feet, defending our border, they do not deserve to have the word ‘pitai’ [beating].”
On December 13, India had said that Chinese soldiers attempted to change the status quo at the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector on December 9 by encroaching on the area, following which Indian troops retaliated.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament that the clash led to “minor injuries” to a few soldiers on both sides. After the face-off, both sides immediately disengaged from the area, he added.
On its part, China alleged that Indian troops illegally crossed a disputed border in the Tawang sector, leading to clashes.
This was the first such incident since the clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh in June 2020.
On December 16, Gandhi had alleged that China is preparing for war while the Indian government is asleep and trying to ignore the threat.
“China has taken our land. They are beating our soldiers,” Gandhi had said, according to NDTV. “The threat of China is clear. And the government is hiding it, ignoring it.”
On Monday, Jaishankar also responded to the Opposition’s criticism that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government is not taking appropriate steps to de-escalate the situation at Chinese borders.
“If we were indifferent to China, who sent the Indian Army to the border?” Jaishankar asked, according to The Indian Express. “If we were indifferent to China, why are we pressurising China for de-escalation and disengagement today? Why are we saying publicly that our relations are not normal?