Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi
This was Rahul Gandhi’s first appearance on the parliamentary panel on defense, a day after the foreign ministers of India and China held talks on the border situation at the Royal Line of Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
- CNN-News18 New Delhi
- Last update: September 11, 2020 9:08 PM IST
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Former Congress Speaker Rahul Gandhi finally decided to make an appearance on the parliamentary panel on defense a day after the foreign ministers of India and China held talks on the border situation at the Royal Line of Control (LAC) in Ladakh. While the talks were not groundbreaking, both ministers stressed the need to normalize things.
So far, Gandhi has not attended any of the committee meetings despite being one of the government’s most vocal critics of its policy toward China.
The Chief of Defense Staff, Bipin Rawat, also appeared before the parliamentary panel. While the official meeting agenda was listed as “provision and monitoring of the quality of rations and livery items for Defense forces, especially in border areas,” some members had said that they would raise the issue of the status of Ladakh.
At the committee meeting, Gandhi questioned why there is a difference in diets between the jaws and the officers stationed at the borders. Interestingly, this is an issue that has been raised by some soldiers in the past, such as Tej Bahadur Yadav, who later faced disciplinary action.
The reason Gandhi raised this question was also because he has been pitching for the Jawans on the border, who he believes are the ones paying the price for what he calls the opaque policy of the Chinese government. However, the government has dismissed this criticism saying that there is a difference in the eating habits of the Jawans and the officers, as the former generally come from a rural background.
When the defense committee meeting ended, Gandhi in a tweet said: “The only ‘talk’ we have with China is about the restoration of the ‘Status Quo Ante’ from March 2020. The PM and GOI refuse to take responsibility for expelling China from our land. Any other ‘talk’ is useless. “
The only “talk” we can have with China is about the restoration of the “Status Quo Ante” from March 2020. The PM and the Government of India refuse to take responsibility for expelling China from our land. Any other “talk” is useless.
– Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 11, 2020
Despite some reservations in Congress, Gandhi is convinced that China is a powerful weapon with which to attack the government. And for a party that has come under fire for being against the soldiers, Gandhi hopes to strike a chord by raising the issue.
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