Sharad Pawar scolds Rahul Gandhi over LAC controversy, we have not forgotten 1962, when China ...

- Modi government gets support of Congress ally NCP in Maharashtra on border dispute with China

Mumbai, Ta. Sunday, June 28, 2020

Amid allegations between the Congress and the BJP over the ongoing tension with China over the Ladakh border issue, Sharad Pawar lashed out at Rahul Gandhi and asked him not to politicize the issue of national security.

National Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar has given his reaction to the LAC controversy. Sharad Pawar said that matters related to national security should not be politicized and recalled the 1962 war, saying that at that time China had occupied 45,000 square kilometers of Indian land. At present I do not know how much land China has occupied in India, but the past needs to be remembered when discussing it.

Sharad Pawar's reaction came on the heels of Rahul Gandhi's allegation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had surrendered Indian territory to China's aggression. He said the skirmish in the Galwan valley was a "failure" on the part of the defense minister as Indian troops were on high alert during the patrol. This whole matter is sensitive.

India was building roads within its borders in its own interest. The Chinese soldiers tried to push on our road and pushed. The collision means, you were alert. If you weren't there, you wouldn't even realize that the Chinese soldiers came and went. I don't think this is the right time to accuse.

"We must not forget what happened in 1962," the former Union Minister said. While China occupied 45,000 square kilometers of Indian territory. This is not the time to make accusations. Also, what happened in the past? This is an issue of national interest and should not be politicized.

It may be recalled that 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash with China on June 15 in eastern Ladakh.