Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Monday attacked both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, saying that the “politics” over the India-China border clash is not in the interest of the country, and could help the Chinese instead, NDTV reported. She also said her party backs the BJP-led central government on the situation with China.

As many as 20 Indian soldiers were killed and 76 wounded in a violent clash with their Chinese counterparts in Galwan Valley in Ladakh, along the Line of Actual Control on June 15. China also suffered casualties, but there is no official confirmation on the number of deaths of its personnel.

“Bahujan Samaj Party stands with Bharatiya Janata Party on the India-China border issue,” Mayawati said in a statement. “Politics being done by BJP and Congress by levelling accusations at each other over India-China border issue is not in the interest of the nation. It is a matter of great concern.”

Mayawati warned that China could take advantage of the political mudslinging over the matter.

During an all-party meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 19, Congress President Sonia Gandhi was the only Opposition leader who questioned the government’s handling of the border dispute. Modi has also received flak from the Congress for claiming that Chinese troops never entered Indian territory.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly accused Modi of surrendering the Indian territory to the Chinese troops and concealing the truth from the public.

On June 27, Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar said the Centre could not be faulted for the Ladakh crisis. He warned against politicising matters of internal security, and said that people must not forget the Indo-China War of 1962, during which China had captured about 45,000 square kilometers of Indian land. The Nationalist Congress Party is an ally of the Congress, and part of the United Progressive Alliance.

Mayawati attacks Congress on migrant crisis

Mayawati also said on Monday that her party was formed because of the Congress’s failure to work for neglected sections of society, including backward castes and adivasis. “I want to tell BJP and Congress that BSP is not a toy for anyone,” she said. “It’s an independent party formed at the national level.”

The BSP chief also attacked the Congress on the migrant crisis, claiming that the workers would not have to travel to far-off cities if jobs had been available near their homes. She asked the BJP not to repeat the mistake of the Congress. “They will have to work really hard to make India self-reliant,” she said. “Publicity isn’t all.”

Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers began a long journey back to their hometowns on foot, after the Centre introduced a countrywide lockdown on March 25 to limit the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. After many protests, the Centre started over 300 “Shramik Special” trains for migrant labourers heading back home. However, this did not stop the exodus.