NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his sustained attack against the Narendra Modi government on the LAC stand-off, tweeting a video of the father of an injured Indian soldier who fought in the Galwan Valley clash advising him to “not indulge in politics” over the issue.
“A brave father of an Armyman’s father speaks and he has a very clear message for Rahul Gandhi. At a time when the entire nation is united, the Congress leader should also rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest,” Shah said.
“The Indian Army is a strong force and can defeat China. Rahul Gandhi, don’t indulge in politics in this…my son fought in the Army and will continue fighting in the Army,” the father can be seen saying in the video.
On Friday, a day after BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra called Rahul the “most irresponsible politician” in the country, BJP vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe penned a letter to the Congress leader, ticking him off for calling India’s elected Prime Minister a “coward” and accusing him of “endangering” the unity of the country in a difficult time.
“By making the most irresponsible and disgusting accusation of cowardice against an elected Prime Minister, you have endangered the unity of the country in a difficult time,” the senior BJP leader told Gandhi in his two-page letter.
However, while the BJP leadership is quoting agreements between India and China that prohibit armies of both countries from using any weapon within two km of border to trash his statements, Gandhi is not the only person holding differing views in the debate regarding the standard-operating procedure in such circumstances.
Some military experts say that under such circumstances even if a forward team went ahead for negotiations with the Chinese along the LAC, there was a laid-down response mechanism allowing the use of firearms in the face of enemy action.