Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's claims over Chinese transgression in Ladakh as "baseless". Downplaying Gandhi's repeated assertions on the border row, Singh advised the Congress leader to rise above politics in matters of national interest.
India and China have so far held seven rounds of high-level military talks on the border row. However, there has been no breakthrough on the disengagement of troops from the friction points so far. India has been maintaining that the onus is on China to carry forward the process of disengagement and de-escalation at the friction points in the mountainous region.
"He (Rahul Gandhi) shouldn't even be discussed given the kind of statements he makes. These allegations are totally baseless and lack substance. He should look at China's history since 1962 till 2013. When the question is about India's national interest and integrity, one should rise above politics," the minister told India TV when asked about Gandhi's claims.
Singh further said that India was under no pressure and that it wants good relations with all the neighbours. "Neither we want even one inch of anybody's land nor we will let anybody take an inch of ours. China has also said that it wants to talk to India. However, we can't say how much time this may time but we are ready," the senior BJP leader said.
Responding to Pakistan's recent admission on Pulwama attack, Singh trained guns at the Congress party and asked why have they gone into hiding after Fawad Chaudhry's statement. "When surgical strike, air strike happened...Congress leaders raised questions on Narendra Modi's intentions. Infact, they said that certain things were done in view of the Lok Sabha elections. In a way, the Congress party was justifying Pakistan's stand. Now a Pakistan minister has made it clear that it was behind the killing of our 40 CRPF jawans. Since the revelation, no Congress leader is ready to speak. I want to ask them what is their stand. At least give a reaction. Correct yourself, at least. Keep politics aside in matter of national interest," he told India TV.
About a Pakistani Opposition leader saying that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi pleaded at a high-level meeting to release IAF pilot Abhinandan fearing an Indian attack on the country, Singh said it showed how terrorised Pakistan was.
"It shows how terrorised they were. They acknowledged India's strength. We, on the other hand, were in no pressure. We were confident. We will never spare anyone wronging us," he said.
The 37-year-old IAF pilot was captured by the Pakistani Army on February 27, 2019 after his MiG-21 Bison jet was shot down in a dogfight with Pakistani jets during aerial combat.
In the early hours of February 26, 2019, the IAF jets bombed the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camps in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan and avenged the Pulwama terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel. Before his jet was hit, Varthaman downed an F-16 fighter of Pakistan. He was released on the night of March 1 by Pakistan.
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