BJP, Congress exchange war of words on former PM Manmohan Singh's remarks
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Singh asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure justice for Indian soldiers who lost their lives
India's two major political parties, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress exchanged a heated war of words following comments made by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the India-China border crisis in Ladakh.
Singh asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure justice for Indian soldiers who lost their lives following a violent face-off with Chinese security personnel at Galwan Valley in Ladakh last week.
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He said that disinformation cannot replace diplomacy or decisive leadership.
"The prime minister must always be mindful of the implications of his words and declarations on our nation's security as also strategic and territorial interests," the former PM said in a statement.
पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री डॉ. मनमोहन सिंह जी की महत्वपूर्ण सलाह। भारत की भलाई के लिए, मैं आशा करता हूँ कि PM उनकी बात को विनम्रता से मानेंगे। pic.twitter.com/0QTewzmcyD
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 22, 2020
Singh's comments were endorsed by his senior party member Rahul Gandhi, who in a tweet called the former PM's advice "important", adding "for the betterment of India, I hope the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) will accept it politely."
The comments were not taken down well by the BJP and its chief JP Nadda asked Congress to stop insulting the armed forces and questioning their bravery.
"You did this post the air strikes and surgical strikes. Please understand the true meaning of national unity, especially in such times. It`s never too late to improve," Nadda said in a tweet.
Dear Dr. Singh and Congress Party,
— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) June 22, 2020
Please stop insulting our forces repeatedly, questioning their valour. You did this post the air strikes and surgical strikes.
Please understand the true meaning of national unity, especially in such times.
It’s never too late to improve.
In other tweets, he also accused Congress of surrendering 43,000 kms of Indian territory to the Chinese without offering a fight and said Singh "presided over 600 incursions made by China between 2010 to 2013".
One only wishes that Dr. Singh was as worried about Chinese designs when, as PM, he abjectly surrendered hundreds of square kilometres of India’s land to China. He presided over 600 incursions made by China between 2010 to 2013!
— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) June 22, 2020
Dr. Manmohan Singh belongs to the same party which:
— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) June 22, 2020
Helplessly surrendered over 43,000 KM of Indian territory to the Chinese!
During the UPA years saw abject strategic and territorial surrender without a fight.
Time and again belittles our forces.
Congress national spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala slammed Nadda for his remarks and asked him to "stop compromising on national security and India's territorial integrity".
"This would be the biggest disservice to our armed forces and our 20 martyrs. Don't buckle down, have the strength to rise to the occasion. We`ll give the government every support," Surjewala, in a tweet, said.