New Delhi Feb 03 :- Union ministers and BJP leaders, led by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi after he accused the government of bringing China and Pakistan together and making a “huge strategic mistake” in Ladakh.
Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said, “Rahul Gandhi alleged in Lok Sabha that it is this Government which brought Pakistan and China together. Perhaps, some history lessons are in order: -In 1963, Pakistan illegally handed over the Shaksgam valley to China. -China built the Karakoram highway through PoK in the 1970s.”
“From the 1970s, the two countries also had close nuclear collaboration. In 2013, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor started. So, ask yourself: were China and Pakistan distant then,” he tweeted.
Responding to Rahul’s remark that the government could not bring a guest on Republic Day, Jaishankar said, “In Lok Sabha, @RahulGandhi said we could not get a foreign guest for Republic Day. Those who live in India know we were in the midst of a corona wave. The 5 Central Asian Presidents, who were to come, did hold a virtual summit on Jan 27. Did Rahul Gandhi miss that as well?”
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi called Rahul “confused” and “mindless”. “He said India is not a country. He said China’s vision is very clear. Have you come here to support China? Tibet problem is because of Congress only,” the minister told reporters.
Later, in a tweet, Joshi said, “Is this ignorance or wilful blindness of Rahul Gandhi? China and Pakistan have been thick together, thanks to the policies of Congress soon after country’s independence.”
Joshi said former President late Pranab Mukherjee had in his memoir “written how Congress committed blunders by gifting territories to Pakistan and China and is responsible for India ceding crucial territories to both these countries”.
For how long will the Gandhi scion act ignorant about his party being hand in gloves with China. Does he forget how Congress sacrificed the national interest by accepting donations from China. Why did the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation take money from China every year?” he added.
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Congress MP should issue an unconditional apology for his remarks on the judiciary and Election Commission.
Referring to Rahul’s speech, in which he said the judiciary, the Election Commission and Pegasus are “instruments of destroying the voice of the union of states”, Rijiju tweeted, “Not only as India’s Law Minister but also as an ordinary citizen, I condemn what Mr. Rahul Gandhi has said about India’s judiciary and EC. These are vital institutions of our democracy. Mr. Rahul Gandhi should immediately apologise to the people, judiciary and EC.”
Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the Congress leader had “Dunning-Kruger” effect, a type of cognitive bias in which people believe they are more capable than they really are. “I was amongst others who had no option (bcoz i was on roster duty in Loksabha), but to listen to great Cong intellectual Rahul – n if ur scratching ur head on why he babbles this way – thn understandng #DunningKruger effect may explain why,” he tweeted.
