PAWAR SAYS WITH GOVT ON SECURITY
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday seemed to criticise alliance partner Congress for its attack on the Centre and the Prime Minister over the standoff with China, saying that matters of national security should not be politicised.
MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday seemed to criticise the Congress, his alliance partner in Maharashtra, for its attack on the government and the Prime Minister over the standoff with China in Galwan valley of eastern Ladakh. Pawar, a former Union defence minister, said matters of national security should not be politicised and one must remember what happened after the 1962 war when large tracts of land were occupied by the Chinese.
Pawar’s comments came in response to a question about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s charge that PM Narendra Modi surrendered Indian territory to the Chinese aggression.
In 1962, a Congress led government headed by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was in charge and had to respond to a surprise attack by the Chinese.
The Congress party, led by its former president Gandhi, has been criticising the government since the June 15 violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan valley.
“It is true China has grabbed part of our land but at the same time we cannot forget that after 1962 war, China had grabbed 45,000 square km of our land and we have not been able to take it back even now. Today, while making allegations, I should remember what has happened when I (Congress) was in charge,” Pawar said. “This is an issue of national interest and one should not bring in politics here.”