Ministers ‘lying' to protect PM; Centre was fast asleep when Chinese troops attacked: Rahul

Are you trying to boost morale of China, BJP hits back at Gandhi

NEW DELHI: Congress

leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused senior ministers in the government of "lying" to protect the prime minister and that the Centre was "fast asleep" while martyred jawans paid the price in Ladakh.

"It's sad to see senior GOI ministers reduced to lying in order to protect the PM. Don't insult our martyrs with your

lies," he tweeted using the hashtag Bjpbetraysourjawans'. Gandhi also tagged a oneminute video of a jawan's father saying the Indian soldiers were unarmed when they were attacked by Chinese troops. The Congress leader's attack on the Union ministers comes after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar rebutted him saying all Indian troops guarding the border with China carry arms. Jaishankar was replying to Gandhi's poser on why Army personnel in Galwan Valley were sent "unarmed to martyrdom".

"It's now crystal clear that: The Chinese attack in Galwan was pre-planned. GOI was fast asleep and denied the problem. The price was paid by our martyred Jawans," Gandhi earlier said on Twitter.

He had also tagged a report quoting Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik saying the attack was pre-planned by China and the Indian forces would give a befitting reply. Gandhi's remarks also come ahead of an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening to discuss the situation along the India-china border.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.

Meanwhile, the BJP on Friday accused Rahul Gandhi of using the language of “school kid” on the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops on the LAC, asking if the Congress leader was trying to boost the morale of China by making such “absurd” statements.

In a letter to Gandhi, BJP vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe suggested that the Congress leader should consult seniors in his party and take their advice before making such “absurd” remarks. Gandhi had on Thursday questioned why Indian soldiers were sent “unarmed to martyrdom” in Ladakh and who was responsible for sending them towards danger, after 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in the violent face-off with Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

He had earlier attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking why he was “hiding”. Responding to Gandhi's charges, Sahasrabuddhe said the Congress leader was expressing his “personal animosity” towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a time all parties were condemning China in unison.

By terming Prime Minister Modi “weak” in this time of crisis and when the entire country is unitedly standing behind soldiers, Gandhi has “insulted” the country and the spirit of unity, the BJP leader said. He told Gandhi that this “language of school kid doesn't suit you and to the dignity of your party”.