Rahul Gandhi claims China preparing for war Jaipur: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Friday that China is preparing for war and the Indian government is sleeping over it and trying to ignore the threat. He also alleged that China has taken away 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory, killed 20 Indian soldiers and is "thrashing our jawans in Arunachal Pradesh".
"I can see the threat of China very clearly. I have been clear on this for the last two-three years, but the government is trying to hide it and ignore it. This threat can neither be hidden or ignored. Going by their full offensive preparation that is on in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, the Indian government is asleep," Gandhi told a press conference here on the completion of 100 days of the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra
"The government does not want to hear this but their (China's) preparation is on. The preparation is for war. It is not for incursion, but for war. If you look at their weapon pattern, what they are doing -- they are preparing for war. Our government hides this and is not able to accept it," the former Congress chief said.
He said this is happening because the Narendra Modi government does event-based work and does not work strategically. "They think in terms of event management but where geostrategy is involved, event-based action does not work, power works there.
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I have said three-four times that we should be careful and understand what is happening. They keep making statements, I see the external affairs minister keeps making remarks, I should not say it, but he should deepen his understanding," Gandhi said.
Meanwhile, speaking on the party's recent drubbing in Gujarat Assembly polls, Gandhi blamed Aam Aadmi Party for the party’s dismal performance in the elections. "If there was no AAP in Gujarat who disturbed Congress’ narrative and issues, we would have been in a good position to defeat the BJP in Gujarat,” he said. Congress managed to win a mere 17 seats in the 182-seat Gujarat Vidhan Sabha.
Gandhi called AAP the “proxy” of the BJP and accused it of colluding with the saffron party. He said the two parties together had hurt the electoral prospects of Congress in the state. The Congress leader also said that no one should underestimate the Congress as it is ideologically driven and is the only party that can bring down the BJP, which he alleged is "fascist".
He welcomed anyone wanting to leave the party saying the Congress does not need those who cannot fight the BJP and succumb to pressures because they may be corrupt. "A lot of people have this fantasy that the Congress party is finished. But I can say that the Congress party can never be finished. Mark my words the BJP is going to be taken down by the Congress party," he told reporters.
Noting that no one should underestimate the Congress, Gandhi said lakhs and crores of party workers are its strength and "if we utilise our workers well, we will be able to ensure a massive victory of the Congress in Rajasthan in next elections".
Asked about the response to the Bharat Jodo Yatra so far, he said it has been overwhelming in Rajasthan and the Hindi-speaking belt. "We saw that it is not just the party workers, but general public also loves the Congress a lot...Critics felt the Bharat Jodo Yatra will fail in Rajasthan due to factionalism, but it has been a huge success here and the response has been overwhelming," the former Congress president said.
