BJP MP digs out Nehru’s 1963 letter to counter Rahul Gandhi’s ‘surrender’ remark on PM Modi

New Delhi, June 4 (IANS) The BJP has gone on the offensive against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his “surrender” jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey revived a decades-old letter written by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to mount a counter attack on Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party. 

Targeting Rahul Gandhi, Dubey posted on social media: “Do you know what surrender looks like, Rahul Baba? This is surrender. This is a letter from January 1963, written by your revered grandfather -- Jawaharlal Nehru -- after India’s defeat in the 1962 war with China.”

Dubey shared excerpts from a letter Nehru wrote to the Chinese Premier, which he claimed illustrated a submissive tone.

According to Dubey, the letter stated that China had occupied 20,000 sq km of Indian territory in the east and 6,000 sq km in the west, and had taken 4,000 Indian soldiers hostage.

He further alleged that Nehru sent the Sri Lankan Prime Minister as a “mediator for surrender” and was “awaiting China's instructions.”

The letter, dated January 1, 1963, reads in part: “This new proposal is worse than your three-point proposal inasmuch as it seeks to exclude the Indian armed forces from the entire area of Indian territory subjected to this latest aggression since 8th September, 1962 -- that is, from Indian territory of over 20,000 square kilometres in the Eastern sector and over 6,000 square kilometres in the Western sector... Surely, the officials of the two sides can hardly discuss and reach agreements on such matters as withdrawal arrangements... if they have no clear direction from their Governments regarding the line with reference to which the disengagement of the armed forces... is to be arranged.”

The controversy arose after Rahul Gandhi criticised PM Modi on Tuesday.

Gandhi said, “When Trump called, Modi surrendered without hesitation.” He accused the Prime Minister of compromising India's interests under foreign pressure.

Rahul further asserted that the BJP and RSS had a long history of capitulation, in contrast to Congress’s record of standing firm on national issues.

He cited the 1971 war under the leadership of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, when India defied US pressure and achieved a decisive victory that led to the creation of Bangladesh.

In response to Rahul Gandhi’s attack on PM Modi, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, earlier on Wednesday, accused the Congress party of having a long history of surrenders, which he said Gandhi is trying to deflect through baseless statements.

"If you want to understand what real surrender is, remember Rahul Gandhi -- just two years ago, you went abroad and said: 'Why are the defenders of democracy, America and Europe, silent and not interfering in India?' That was surrender," Trivedi said.

Trivedi cited several instances, accusing previous Congress governments of weakening India's strategic position.