Union minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal in an exclusive interview to Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi slammed the Congress for ceding land to China, and said the BJP government has ensured India’s borders are safe.
With the Opposition attacking the BJP government over China and other border issues, Goyal called out Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for spreading wrong news about the China issue. “Rahul ji, China did not take our land during the BJP’s time, but during the Congress’s time. The Congress is in the dock. The Congress has to answer about the land we lost after losing the war during their tenure,” he said.
He stressed that the morale of the Indian Army and other security forces is strong under the BJP and NDA rule, and soldiers give befitting reply to anyone who attacks India. “You will remember how in the Pangong Valley, our soldiers gave a befitting reply and not a single person moved from there. Today, we have equipped them with the best facilities and equipment. During Congress rule, our equipment or our defence manufacturing had become weak. Today, our armed forces have got a new boost,” he added.
After the Galwan Valley clash, India and China’s armies faced off in Pangon Tso in August 2020. The Indian Army had then issued a statement that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army “carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo” on the night of August 29-30, 2020. “Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake, undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on ground,” the statement read.
Recently, BJP leader and external affairs minister S Jaishankar had targeted Jawaharlal Nehru and claimed that past mistakes were responsible for the problems such as Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and occupation of some parts of the Indian territory by China.
Referring to India’s stand when it was offered a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, he claimed there was a time when Nehru said “India second, China first”.
The BJP leaders had also attacked Congress governments under Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi over the ceding of the island of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka.
‘India Not Going to Bow Down To Anyone’
When asked about the new India, which is no longer a silent spectator but reciprocates to any attack on its soil, vis-à-vis reports that India had been involved in the killing of 20 terrorists in Pakistan, Goyal clarified that India does not interfere in the politics of other countries and expect the same of them.
Amidst a viral video of Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar in which he has said India should engage in a dialogue with Pakistan as it has nuclear capabilities, Goyal said India has got self-respect and the mood in the nation is such that the country will not bow down to anyone.
“We have seen how terrorists held us to ransom, be it the bomb blasts or 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai. In those situations, every citizen was saddened by the weak government the Congress gave to the country. Today, every citizen of the country is proud that Prime Minister Modi ji did a strike in Balakot or Uri, it has boosted the morale of the country. The country has got a sense of security, every person in the country feels safe. This is a big issue among people,” Goyal told CNN-News18.
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