Congress, BJP continue to bicker over Chinese aggression at LAC

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 19

The Bharatiya Janata Party and opposition Congress continued to bicker on Friday over a recent act of Chinese aggression at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh that killed 20 soldiers of the Indian Army---a development that comes even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi  has called an all-party meeting to discuss the development.

BJP vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe wrote a letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday objecting to the latter calling Modi a “coward”. The letter, which came a day after another BJP leader Sambit Patra called Gandhi “the most irresponsible politician” in the country,  accused the Congress leader of “endangering the unity of the country” during difficult times.

“You have given an advantage to China and endangered the unity of India.  By making the most irresponsible and disgusting accusation of cowardice against an elected Prime Minister, you have jeopardised/endangered unity of the country in a difficult time,” the senior BJP leader told Gandhi in his two-page letter.

In the letter, Sahasrabuddhe tells Gandhi to consult senior leaders of his party before making “irresponsible” statements.

“After the brutal attack (in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed on the LAC) while majority of political leaders condemned China in one voice you, through your messages and tweets of two sentences, tried to take political mileage out of it, calling the Prime Minister a coward and hurting the sentiments of the country,” he said.

 Incidentally, the BJP had announced it was cancelling its virtual political programmes scheduled over the next as a “tribute” to soldiers killed at the LAC after it was criticised for going ahead as planned despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and tensions with China.  

 Gandhi however kept his attack against the central government. A day after he asked why Indian soldiers were sent “unarmed to martyrdom” in Ladakh, he accused the central government of being fast asleep as the Chinese mounted a “pre-planned” attack.

 “It is now crystal clear that the Chinese attack in Galwan was pre-planned, GOI was fast asleep and denied the problem, and the price was paid by our martyred jawans”.

Even though the BJP leadership continues to quote agreements between India and China that forbid the countries from using any weapon within 2 km of the border, Gandhi’s appears to be far from the only person holding such views---there seems to be a growing debate about the standard operating procedure under such circumstances.  

Military experts say that under such circumstances, even if a forward team went ahead for negotiations with the Chinese, there was an established response mechanism that includes using firearms in the face of enemy action.