Rahul Gandhi Tweets Request To PM Modi On Address To Nation

Rahul Gandhi has been attacking PM Modi over Ladakh stand-off (File)

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi tweeted a request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi just before his address to the nation on Tuesday, saying he must tell the country the date by which he will "throw the Chinese out of the Indian territory".

"Dear PM, in your 6 pm address, please tell the nation the date by which you will throw the Chinese out of Indian territory. Thank you," he wrote.

Dear PM,

In your 6pm address, please tell the nation the date by which you will throw the Chinese out of Indian territory.

Thank you.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 20, 2020

PM Modi, however, in his seventh address to the nation since March, talked about Covid precautions ahead of the festive season.

"Recent videos show that people are becoming very lax with the (Covid) precautions. Videos show that people are being irresponsible and not taking the steps advised. This cannot happen. Till the time we get a vaccine shot, we absolutely cannot be complacent about the pandemic," PM Modi said.

"India is working on 2-3 vaccine candidates and we are trying our best to get a vaccine, as is the rest of the world. I want you to know that once we get a vaccine, everyone will get it in a planned, phased and fast manner," he added.

India and China have been locked in a face-off at the Line of Actual Control or LAC, the de-facto border between the two countries, since May. Authorities say the Chinese troops had attempted to transgress the LAC several times in the last few months.

In June, 20 Indian soldiers had died in the line of duty in a clash with the Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh. Several Chinese troops had also been killed in the brawl.

Last month, shots were fired in the air more than once as the two armies came face-to-face at Pangong Tso.

Several rounds of military and diplomatic talks between the two sides have yet to yield a solution, with the Chinese refusing to adhere to agreements on restoring status quo. The eighth army-level talk to resolve the stand-off is expected next week.

Mr Gandhi has been attacking the Central government over its handling of the India-China confrontation at LAC. Earlier this month, he said PM Modi "gave 1200 sq km to China to save his image".

"Modi ji said nobody has taken away India's land...but China has access to 1,200 square km of our land. How did they take it? Even China knows... 'the man at the top can give us this land to save his image'," Mr Gandhi had told reporters in Punjab.