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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday rebutted the Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's remarks on China and said that the Army Chief's remarks referred only to the disturbance of traditional patrolling by both sides and the Army Chief never spoke the words attributed by Gandhi at any time.
In a post on X, Singh said that Rahul Gandhi in his speech in Parliament on February 3 made false allegations about the statement of the Army Chief on the situation on the India-China border. "The Army Chief's remarks referred only to the disturbance of traditional patrolling by both sides. He also mentioned that these practices have been restored to their traditional pattern as part of the recent disengagement. Government has shared these details in Parliament," Rajnath Singh said. "The words attributed to the Army Chief by Rahul Gandhi were never spoken by him at any time. It is a matter of deep regret that Rahul Gandhi should indulge in irresponsible politics on matters of national interest," he added. "If at all there is Indian Territory into which China has come, this is 38,000 sq. km in Aksai Chin as a result of the 1962 conflict and 5,180 sq. km. illegally ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963. Rahul Gandhi may consider introspecting about this phase of our history," the Defence Minister added. On Monday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that "China is sitting inside this country is because 'Make in India' has failed" and said that India has an opportunity with the revolution in energy and mobility. Participating in the debate on the motion of thanks on the President's Address, Rahul Gandhi said that Prime Minister has denied that Chinese forces are inside our territory "but for some reason, our Army keeps talking to Chinese about their entry into our territory and Chief of Army Staff has said that the Chinese are inside our territory". Rebutting his claims, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju highlighted that during Rahul Gandhi's speech, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha had asked the opposition leader four times to authenticate his claims, but the LoP spoke without providing necessary substantiation and left the House. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Kiren Rijiju said, "When the Leader of Opposition (Rahul Gandhi) was speaking today, the Speaker also said 4 times that he should authenticate his claims. But he spoke and left. LoP is a responsible post and they should present their statements with thoughtfulness. If we take Rahul Gandhi's statement lightly, then in future too, any LoP would come and say whatever they feel like and leave. He should authenticate what he said otherwise the Chair should take action." (ANI)
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