Farmers Movement Archive

Amit Shah slams Rahul’s China talk, reminds Congress of ’62

NEW DELHI: Home minister Amit Shah on Monday took a swipe at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s recent remarks on the government’s handling of the India-China border tension, saying the opposition party should have shown “courage” in 1962 when a huge swathe of Indian territory was captured by the Chinese, adding that the situation would not be repeated today. “The 15-minute formula, they could have applied it in 1962. That time our PM (Nehru) had said “bye bye Assam”,” Shah said in an interview to Zee News. He said Rahul’s party should have shown that courage in 1962 rather than making claims now of how the Chinese would be evicted. At a recent rally in Haryana against the farm bills, Rahul had attacked PM Modi, saying that if Congress had been in office it would have thrown out Chinese troops in less than 15 minutes. The home minister denied the possibility of a twofront war and said talks between top officials of Indian and Chinese armies and diplomats were going on to resolve the issue. However, he reiterated that there would be no compromise on the country’s sovereignty. “Trying to improve relations does not mean you give up on national interest. This is not 1962. I can say this much that no one will be able to occupy one inch of India’s land,” Shah said and added that the Modi government was committed to secure every inch of the country’s land. On the controversy over Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s views on a Pakistani forum where he allegedly said Pakistan’s handling of Covid was better than India, the minister said the party was once again resorting to appeasement politics and it was not new for Congress to support the neighbour. “It is necessary for people to recognise those who put India’s interest at stake for their politics of appeasement. This will not work any more,” he said. On the opposition’s criticism of the handling of Covid, Shah once again hit out at Congress: “You and me cannot convince Rahul Gandhi. People will keep convincing him in every election.” About his illness and how he utilised the time, Shah said he pondered about the wrongs he might have committed in the past and how to ensure they are not repeated.

The Times of India

2020-10-20

India