The Congress on Thursday doubled down on its ‘laal aankh‘ swipe at the Narendra Modi government as the political row over China’s transgressions in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang rumbles into a fourth day.
Bhupesh Baghel’s jibe, and said: “It seems ‘red eye’ of Modi government is covered with Chinese glasses… Can we not speak against China in Parliament?”
The Congress and other parties walked out of Parliament yesterday after accusing the government of blocking debates on the India-China border issue.
Led by Sonia Gandhi, MPs from the Congress and Trinamool walked out of the Lok Sabha and 17, including those two and the Janata Dal (United), the Telugu Desam Party, and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, walked out of the Rajya Sabha.
On Wednesday Baghel slammed the government on the same issue, calling on the government to show ‘laal aankh‘ to maintain status quo along the LAC)
“China is encroaching on our borders. It is not only a matter of Pakistan… if other countries are also doing this, we have to show (our) ‘lal aankh‘.”
Baghel hit out at the government for silence in the face of Chinese aggression and was joined by Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor in his condemnation.
Opposition parties have demanded a full-fledged discussion in Parliament on China’s border actions, but the government has refused to engage.
Irked, the Congress yesterday also demanded answers from prime minister Narendra Modi, tweeting with the hashtag #JawabDoModi.
On December 9 Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Tawang sector.
India responded in a ‘firm and resolute’ manner and forced a retreat, the government said. Defence minister Rajnath Singh said there were no fatalities – unlike in Galwan June 2020 – and no serious injuries to Indian soldiers.
The scuffle, though, provoked outrage in Parliament and accusations by the Congress that the prime minister and the government were ‘hiding the truth’.