‘Not an inch..’: BJP cites Gen. Naravane to counter Rahul Gandhi’s claim of India losing territory to China

Jayanta Bhattacharya

New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's remarks on the floor of the Parliament, quoting excerpts from what is claimed to be an "unpublished work" of former Indian Army chief, General M.M. Naravane (retd), and questioning India's position on border issues with China has sparked a sharp political clash. 

Gandhi's statement and subsequent insistence triggered an uproar in the House and have since spilt into a heated war of words outside the Parliament.

The Congress leader's remark drew sharp reaction from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Executive member and in-charge of the party's National Information and Technology Department, Amit Malviya.

"Rahul Gandhi has once again chosen to misuse Parliamentary privilege to malign the Indian Armed Forces and place India's national security narrative under a cloud of suspicion. This is not new," Malviya said on X.

In the middle of the Budget Session, when the House was debating the President's address, Gandhi claimed the account revealed details of a 2020 Ladakh standoff with China and pressed the Union government to explain why it was "so scared" of such references.

"At a time when Parliament should be focused on legislation, economic progress, and policies that directly impact citizens' lives, precious parliamentary time is instead wasted on manufactured controversies that undermine public confidence in our Armed Forces and national institutions," BJP leader Malviya charged.

Gandhi referred to what he claimed was an extract from a book by General Naravane (retd).

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla ruled against Gandhi reading from the magazine, citing Parliamentary rules.

This led to disruptions and protests from Congress MPs.

BJP members, including Nishikant Dubey, said that the Leader of Opposition should study established historical accounts, pointing to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's alleged concessions to China in the 1950s.

In his X post, Malviya accused Rahul Gandhi of reading concocted things about China and warned that such conduct sets a dangerous precedent.

He insisted that "not an inch of land has been lost" in the border standoff, citing General Naravane's own statements.

Video clips of the former Chief of the Army Staff have since come to light, where he is heard emphasising that "not an inch of land was lost" by India.

The BJP's X account shared a sound byte of General Naravane where he is stressing that "We have not lost out on any territory. We are where we were before this thing started".

Malviya expounded the process of negotiation where the issue was approached "step-by-step" where the primary requirement was to disengage from a confrontation.

Talks will continue to "narrow down differences and arrive at an acceptable solution", he added.

He has also said at another instance that India's response was a message not only to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) itself, "but it also diminished the stature of China as a country in the global eyes".

"Indian Army, and India as a country, showed that it is possible to take on a neighbourhood bully... We showed it can be done."

In another X post, Malviya reminded that Lt General Y.K. Joshi (retd), "the then Chief of the Indian Army's Northern Command, was directly reporting the tank movements of August 31, 2020, to former Army Chief General M. M. Naravane. In his published book, Lieutenant General Joshi has unequivocally confirmed the success of India's operations in Eastern Ladakh".

In his book "Who Dares Wins: A Soldier's Memoirs", General Joshi wrote about the Chinese military's aggressive manoeuvres in Eastern Ladakh in 2020.

The PLA advanced in significant numbers into Galwan Valley, followed by incursions near the northern bank of Pangong Tso and later in the Tsogtsalu and Hotsprings sectors, Malviya said.

Writing that these provocations were met with firm and calculated responses, the then Northern Command chief said: "We completely took the PLA by surprise, brought them back to the negotiation table and forced them to beat a hasty retreat. This was Operation Snow Leopard."

Taking to his X account, BJP leader Malviya asked: "The question then is obvious: why does Rahul Gandhi selectively lift excerpts from a magazine article while ignoring a published, first-hand account by an Army Commander who was on the ground and has clearly affirmed India's success?"

"Selective quotation may suit a political narrative but it does not serve the truth, the Armed Forces, or the nation," the BJP leader added.

--IANS

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