Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi today launched a blistering attack on the Prime Minister on foreign policy, accusing him of "bringing China and Pakistan" together. In a speech slamming the BJP-government, Mr Gandhi said that the country has been surrounded by adversaries on all sides and is isolated in the region. "The nation is at risk from outside and inside. and I don't like that. This worries me," he added. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar responded on Twitter by listing four instances of China and Pakistan working together when The BJP was not in power. "Perhaps, some history lessons are in order," he said, taking a dig at Mr Gandhi.
"The strategic goal of India should have been to keep China and Pakistan separate. But what you have done is to bring them together. Do not underestimate what we are facing. This is a serious threat to India," he said.
Bilateral relations between Pakistan and China have strengthened, especially after the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was launched in 2015. The relationship extends beyond an economic partnership, to increasing military cooperation between the two nations involving arms deals, joint exercises, and defence pacts. Pakistan's largest nuclear power plant, which was inaugurated last year, was built in Karachi with Chinese assistance. The two countries have a Free Trade Agreement.
China had also said that it is ready to deepen "friendly and cooperative" relations with Afghanistan after the Taliban seized control of the country. Formal recognition of the new government, which many expect to happen soon, will also help China protect strategic investments in bordering Pakistan. Many experts believe the Taliban had assistance from the Pakistan security establishment in their training to take over Afghanistan.
Responding to the accusation, Dr Jaishankar listed instances of China and Pakistan working together when the Congress was in power at the centre.
"Rahul Gandhi alleged in Lok Sabha that it is this Government which brought Pakistan and China together. Perhaps, some history lessons are in order," he said on Twitter and cited four instances.
"In 1963, Pakistan illegally handed over the Shaksgam valley to China.
China built the Karakoram highway through PoK in the 1970s.
From the 1970s, the two countries also had close nuclear collaboration.
In 2013, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor started," he added.
The Congress MP also claimed that India didn't have a guest for Republic Day this year because the country is "completely isolated and surrounded". "We are surrounded in Nepal, Afghanistan, China," he said, calling it "the single biggest crime against the people of India".
Dr Jaishankar, in another tweet, clarified that foreign guests were not physically present because of the pandemic and that they held a virtual summit on January 27. Taking a swipe at Mr Gandhi's foreign trips, he said that "those who live in India" know that we are in the midst of a pandemic.
"In Lok Sabha, @RahulGandhi said we could not get a foreign guest for Republic Day. Those who live in India know we were in the midst of a corona wave.
The 5 Central Asian Presidents, who were to come, did hold a virtual summit on Jan 27. Did Rahul Gandhi miss that as well?" he said.
"It is very clear that the Chinese and Pakistanis are planning. Look at the weapons they are buying, look at the way they are talking. We have made a massive blunder and I am absolutely sure we can defend against the Chinese," he said.
Not just external threats, Mr Gandhi also said that the country has been "weakened" and "our institutions are under attack".
"We made a huge strategic mistake in Jammu and Kashmir," he said, possibly referring to the reading down of Article 370 that revoked the special status granted to the state. He also said that conflicts are on the rise in border states.
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