In a dig at Congressman Rahul Gandhi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stated on Saturday that the territory that opposition politicians claimed China had conquered "was in fact occupied in 1962."
The foreign minister added that certain individuals purposefully disseminated false information about the China problem for political reasons. The minister claimed that they make an effort to give the appearance that it recently occurred.
Rahul Gandhi claimed last year that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "without a fight" ceded 100 square kilometres of Indian territory to China and he subsequently asked the administration how it would be reclaimed. The Wayanad MP reiterated his previous assertion that "China has seized 2,000 sqm, but our Prime Minister Modi has not said anything" during a recent conversation with actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan.
"They occasionally bring up some land that China took in 1962. However, they won't be honest with you. They'll make you believe that it happened just yesterday "Without naming anyone, the foreign minister spoke.
According to him, political party leaders occasionally deliberately distribute inaccurate information about China.
"If you want to know why they lack confidence, why they are spreading false information about China, or why they are misleading people, ask them. How can I respond to these inquiries? Because they are also involved in politics, I know. Sometimes they purposefully distribute such untrue information, "Jaishankar continued.
The minister continued to poke fun at Rahul Gandhi's 2017 encounter with the envoy, which occurred during a standoff between the two nations.
The Congress claimed that Rahul Gandhi had met with the ambassadors of Bhutan's neighbours during the stalemate between India and China on their shared border in 2017.
"Also, if I would need to know something (about China), I would go to my military leadership, not the Chinese envoy," Jaishankar continued.
On December 9, 2022, Indian and Chinese forces engaged in combat along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang Sector of Arunachal Pradesh. According to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, there were wounded troops on both sides but no fatalities on the Indian side.
The foreign minister also addressed how the BJP government has been labelled as "Hindu nationalist" by foreign media. "They won't call us Christian Nationalists in America or Europe; these adjectives are reserved for us," he stated.
