BJP president JP Nadda "will not dare to ask" the Prime Minister to "explain the 2264 Chinese incursions since 2015", senior Congress leader P Chidambaram tweeted this morning, coming to the defence of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Mr Nadda had launched a counter-attack on Manmohan Singh on Monday, hours after the latter put out a statement on the Ladakh clash, saying the Prime Minister must "always be mindful of the implications of his words" -- an apparent reference to the controversy over PM Narendra Modi's comments at an all-party meeting last Friday.
"BJP President @JPNadda asked ex-PM Dr Manmohan Singh to explain the 600 Chinese incursions into India between 2010 and 2013. Yes, there were incursions but no Indian territory was occupied by China and no lives of Indian soldiers were lost in violent clashes," Mr Chidambaram said in a series of tweets.
"Will @JPNadda please ask the present PM to explain the 2264 Chinese incursions since 2015? I bet he will not dare to ask that question," the Congress leader said in another tweet. He said Mr Singh and his party should stop "insulting" our forces repeatedly and questioning their valour.
JP Nadda had said on Monday that as Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh had "abjectly surrendered" hundreds of square kilometres of India's land to China and presided over 600 incursions made by the neighbouring country between 2010 and 2013.
Hitting out at Mr Singh, Mr Nadda said, "Dr Manmohan Singh belongs to the same party which: Helplessly surrendered over 43,000 KM of Indian territory to the Chinese! During the UPA years saw abject strategic and territorial surrender without a fight. Time and again belittles our forces".
The BJP president added, "One only wishes that Dr. Singh was as worried about Chinese designs when, as PM, he abjectly surrendered hundreds of square kilometres of India''s land to China. He presided over 600 incursions made by China between 2010 to 2013!"
JP Nadda today attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of trying to "divide the nation" and "demoralise" the armed forces during crucial situations. "First, Congress signs MoU with the Chinese Communist Party. Then, Congress surrenders land to China. During Doklam issue, Rahul Gandhi secretly goes to the Chinese embassy. During crucial situations, Rahul Gandhi tries to divide the nation and demoralise armed forces. Effects of MoU?" Mr Nadda tweeted today.
In his first remarks on the Ladakh face-off in which 20 soldiers were killed in the line of duty, Manmohan Singh also said the Prime Minister and the government must "rise to the occasion to ensure justice for Colonel B. Santosh Babu and our jawans who have made the ultimate sacrifice and resolutely defended our territorial integrity."
To do any less "would be a historic betrayal of the people's faith," said Manmohan Singh, in his first response to the deadly face-off on June 15 at Galwan Valley.
On Friday, at an all-party meeting, PM Modi had said: "Neither is anyone inside our territory nor are any of our posts captured".
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