Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of falsely attributing remarks to the Army chief on the situation in eastern Ladakh that he “never” made.In an address in Lok Sabha on Monday, Gandhi, attacking the government on the border row with China in eastern Ladakh, remarked: “Our chief of army staff has said that the Chinese are inside our territory.”The defence minister slammed Gandhi for the comments and said the words attributed to the Army chief by the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha were never spoken to by him at any time.He underscored the importance of accuracy and responsible discourse on matters concerning national security. “Rahul Gandhi in his speech in Parliament on February 3 made false allegations about the statement of the Army Chief on the situation on the India-China border,” Singh said in a post on ‘X’.”The Army Chief’s remarks referred only to the disturbance of traditional patrolling by both sides. He also mentioned that these practices have been restored to their traditional pattern as part of the recent disengagement,” he added.The defence minister said the government has shared these details in Parliament. The words attributed to the Army chief by Rahul Gandhi were never spoken by him at any time, he said.Singh said it is a matter of “deep regret” that Gandhi “should indulge in irresponsible politics on matters of national interest”. “If at all there is Indian Territory into which China has come, this is 38,000 sq km in Aksai Chin as a result of the 1962 conflict and 5,180 sq km illegally ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963.””Rahul Gandhi may consider introspecting about this phase of our history,” Singh said.In his address, Gandhi said, “Today, we have the Chinese (on our land) but the Prime Minister has denied it, the Army disagreed with the Prime Minister.””The PM has denied that Chinese forces are inside our territory but for some reason our army keeps talking to the Chinese about their entry into our territory and our chief of army staff has said that the Chinese are inside our territory,” he said.At a press conference on January 13, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi said there is still a “degree” of standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and both sides need to sit down and firm up a broader understanding on how to calm down the situation and restore trust.
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