Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, 14 March, said, “Weak Modi is scared of Xi. Not a word comes out of his mouth when China acts against India.” However Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was quick to respond saying, “Why is Rahul Gandhi in a celebratory mood?”
The war of words erupted after China once again put a ‘hold’ on a proposal to designate Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. The proposal was moved by France, the UK and the US, days after a suicide bomber of JeM killed nearly 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama.
Earlier today Rahul Gandhi had tweeted:
China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, has blocked India's bid for the fourth time in the last 10 years.
BJP Hits Out at Rahul Gandhi
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hit back at Rahul Gandhi and said, “Why is Rahul Gandhi in a celebratory mood when the country stands pained in this kind of move by China?”
Prasad further said that if Rahul Gandhi has a good relationship with China then why couldn’t he use that proximity to influence China’s decision.
The official Twitter handle of the BJP quoted an excerpt from ‘Letters for a Nation: From Jawaharlal Nehru to His Chief Ministers 1947-1963’ and said that this won’t have happened if “your great grandfather not 'gifted' it to them at India’s cost. (sic)”
Congress Leaders Target PM Over Azhar Ban
Other senior Congress leaders too targeted the prime minister. Congress Chief Spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said it was a sad day in the global fight against terrorism.
Kapil Sibal, too, took a dig at Modi and asked, “What happened to the Wuhan spirit?”
The Congress on its official Twitter handle said, “With China having blocked our bid to designate Masood Azhar a global terrorist, the question on every Indian’s mind is, what was the use of all the swinging with Modi and President Xi.”
The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said that it was “disappointed by this outcome” but will “continue to pursue all available avenues to ensure that terrorist leaders who are involved in heinous attacks on our citizens are brought to justice”.
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