'Under whose rule China occupied Aksai Chin': BJP's Anurag Thakur hits back at Rahul over latter's criticism

ConghNew Delhi: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that China had taken over 4,000 square kilometre of Indian territory and that reciprocal tariffs or import duties imposed by the US would "completely devastate" the Indian economy, as he demanded answers from the government over these issues.

The BJP hit back at Gandhi over his remarks during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, saying "not an inch of land" had been given to China under BJP rule and it was under Congress rule that China had occupied Indian territory.

The ruling party also said it is the country's good fortune that the PM of this country is Narendra Modi before whom the world bows.

Speaking during the Zero Hour, Gandhi slammed the government over the celebration of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties by India and China.

"China is sitting on 4,000 square kilometre of our territory. I was shocked some time back to see that our foreign secretary (Vikram Misri) was cutting a cake with the Chinese ambassador. The question is -- what exactly is happening to this territory of 4,000 sq km that China has taken?" the former Congress president said.

Referring to the Galwan incident, Gandhi said 20 jawans were martyred in 2020.

"There is a celebration taking place over their martyrdom by cutting a cake. We are not against normalcy but there should be status quo before that. We should get our land back. It has also come to my notice that the President and the Prime Minister have written to the Chinese," he said.

"We are not finding this out from our own people, it is the Chinese ambassador who is telling the people of India that the PM and the President have written to them," Gandhi said.

He said foreign policy is about managing external countries and pointed out that on one hand, "you have given China 4,000 sq km of our land", and on the other hand our ally US has suddenly decided to impose tariffs on us.

He said the tariffs imposed by the US are going to "completely devastate" the Indian economy, particularly sectors like the auto industry, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.

"Somebody once asked Indira Gandhi ji-- 'In the matter of foreign policy you lean left or you lean right', and Indira Gandhi ji answered 'I don't lean left or right, I stand straight. I am Indian and I stand straight'.

"The BJP and the RSS have a different philosophy, when they are asked whether they lean left or the right, they say 'no, no, no, we bow our head in front of every foreigner that comes in front of us. This is something that is in their culture, in their history, we know that," Gandhi said.

He said the government of India must give answers as to "what is it doing about our land and about these tariffs that our ally has imposed on us".

The US has announced 27 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India, saying New Delhi imposes high import duties on American goods.

Sharing a video of his remarks in the Lower House, Gandhi said on X, "Cutting cakes with Chinese diplomats while they occupy our land amounts to nothing short of celebrating the sacrifice of our brave martyrs!" "Prime Minister Modi and the BJP's 'foreign policy' continues its spineless tradition - bowing before every foreigner, when we should be standing straight. When will the PM answer how the govt will get back the 4,000 sq. km. encroached by China or respond to the economically devastating 26% tariffs imposed by the United States?" the former Congress president said.

Speaking during the Zero Hour, BJP MP Anurag Thakur hit back at Gandhi, asking under whose rule did China occupied Aksai Chin area.

"They kept talking about Hindi-Chini bhai bhai and stabbed us in the back. Who was the leader that was having Chinese soup with Chinese officials at the time of Doklam and did not stand with the people of the Indian army. Which is the foundation which took money from Chinese officials. Question has not been answered whether Rajiv Gandhi foundation had taken that money or not, for what was the money taken?" Thakur said.

"Under Modi government, we can say the Indian army gave a befitting reply during Doklam. The PM went to the border and boosted the morale of the armed forces. The defence minister also went...not even a single inch of land anybody has been able to take. Some people level false allegations while colluding with China for their political advantage," he said, hitting out at Gandhi.

Another BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said it is the country's good fortune that the PM of this country is Narendra Modi before whom the world bows.

"US president calls Modi his friend, Australian PM calls him boss, Papua New Guinea PM touches his feet. This is the situation. A weak PM like yours, who gave Tibet, who gave territory to the Chinese... Indira Gandhi gave away Kachchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka," Dubey said.

"It is not a time for a weak PM like yours, it is not Nehru's country. We have not given an inch to China. We did not sign an MoU with a Communist Party of India. Your PMs did agreements due to which China is our enemy and your agreement on Tibet was wrong. We are proud that PM Modi is our PM and the whole world bows before him," the BJP MP said during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha.