“If they point one finger towards us…”: Congress leader Khurshid defends Rahul Gandhi’s China claims

New Delhi [India], August 20 (ANI): Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Sunday hit back at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after it countered Rahul Gandhi’s claim that China has occupied land in India and said that four fingers point at them if they point one at the Congress. 

Speaking to ANI, the former Union Minister said, “If they point one finger towards us, then the other four fingers will be pointing towards them also. There are a lot of big questions, but we can’t discuss them every time on the road because it is the question of the image of the country”.

Khurshid said that bigger questions related to national security were not meant to be discussed openly and said they will not allow to “distort” the image of the country. 

The Congress veteran was reacting to BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad who said that Congress is repeatedly seeking proof of the Balakot and Uri attacks, while reminding them how much land was captured by China before and after the 1962 war.

The former Union Minister said they will bear the pain but will not allow it to “distort the image of the country”.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ravishankar Prasad hit out at Rahul Gandhi over his remark that China has taken India’s land.

“Do anything, but why do you try to lower the morale of India’s security forces”? the BJP MP asked.

Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that the Centre’s claim that not an inch of Indian land was taken by China’s People Liberation Army (PLA) troops “is not true”.

Prasad while reacting to the Congress president’s statement said, “They (Congress) ask for proof of the Balakot & Uri attacks. What can we even expect from them? Today, when Rahul Gandhi talks about Ladakh, I want to ask him if he remembers how much of India’s land was captured by China before and after the 1962 war.”

Rahul Gandhi claimed the locals, too, contend that Indian territory was intruded upon and taken by the Chinese troops, which was a matter of concern.

Speaking to reporters, the Congress leader said, “The locals here are concerned about China taking our land. They have said that the Chinese troops took away their grazing land. However, the PM says not an inch of land was taken away. This is not true, you can ask anyone here,” said Rahul.

Prasad also mentioned former Defence Minister AK Antony in his past speech in the Parliament on China.

“The then Defence Minister AK Antony in the Parliament had said that ‘We don’t want to irritate China by erecting infrastructure’, this is your (Congress party) past,” Prasad added.

Further, highlighting the condition under the Modi government, Prasad said that “Look today, under Modi government roads and bridges from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, are building up helping army vehicles to react fast on different situations.”