Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that China had taken over 4,000 square kilometre of Indian territory and that reciprocal tariffs or import duties imposed by the US would "completely devastate" the Indian economy, as he demanded answers from the government over these issues.
The BJP hit back at Gandhi over his remarks during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, saying "not an inch of land" had been given to China under BJP rule and it was under Congress rule that China had occupied Indian territory.
The ruling party also said it is the country's good fortune that the PM of this country is Narendra Modi before whom the world bows.
Speaking during the Zero Hour, Gandhi slammed the government over the celebration of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties by India and China.
"China is sitting on 4,000 square kilometre of our territory. I was shocked some time back to see that our foreign secretary (Vikram Misri) was cutting a cake with the Chinese ambassador. The question is -- what exactly is happening to this territory of 4,000 sq km that China has taken?" the former Congress president said.
Referring to the Galwan incident, Gandhi said 20 jawans were martyred in 2020.
"We should get our land back. It has also come to my notice that the President and the Prime Minister have written to the Chinese," he said.
He said foreign policy is about managing external countries and pointed out that on one hand, "you have given China 4,000 sq km of our land", and on the other hand our ally US has suddenly decided to impose tariffs on us.
He said the government of India must give answers as to "what is it doing about our land and about these tariffs that our ally has imposed on us".
Speaking during the Zero Hour, BJP MP Anurag Thakur hit back at Gandhi, asking under whose rule did China occupied Aksai Chin area.
"They kept talking about Hindi-Chini bhai bhai and stabbed us in the back. Who was the leader that was having Chinese soup with Chinese officials at the time of Doklam and did not stand with the people of the Indian army. Which is the foundation which took money from Chinese officials. Question has not been answered whether Rajiv Gandhi foundation had taken that money or not, for what was the money taken?" Thakur said.
"Under Modi government, we can say the Indian army gave a befitting reply during Doklam. The PM went to the border and boosted the morale of the armed forces. The defence minister also went...not even a single inch of land anybody has been able to take. Some people level false allegations while colluding with China for their political advantage," he said, hitting out at Gandhi.
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