‘It is very clear China has taken away India’s land': Rahul Gandhi rakes up border issue hours after Modi-Xi meeting in BRICS

Senior Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed that China has taken away India’s land in Ladakh and that the Centre is lying about the whole issue. The comment came hours after PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg. 

Gandhi reached Kargil on Thursday evening on his KTM 390 Adventure bike on the last leg of his maiden visit to Ladakh after it was granted UT status in August 2019.

Speaking at a public rally in Ladakh's Kargil area, Gandhi said: “...Ladakh is a strategic location...One thing is very clear China has taken away India's land..." 

“It is sad that the PM in the opposition meeting said that not even an inch of Ladakh has been taken by China. This is a lie," he added. 

He further said, “BJP people know that if you were given representation then they will not be able to take away your land, this is all about land, they (BJP) want to take away your land and give it to Adani so that he can set up his plant but don’t share the benefits with you. But we will never let this happen.” 

On Thursday, PM Modi and Chinese President Xi had a brief conversation as they shared the stage during the BRICS summit. 

The Ministry of External Affairs said that the government had said that PM Modi highlighted to President Xi India's concerns on the unresolved issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). 

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Thursday said Modi conveyed to Xi India's concerns on the “unresolved” issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, underlining that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas was essential for the normalisation of India-China ties. 

Kwatra stated PM Modi and President Xi agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at "expeditious disengagement and de-escalation". 

China too released a statement on Thursday that President Xi Jinping talked with Indian PM Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit at the latter’s request on August 23, 2023. 

"The two leaders had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on current China-India relations and other questions of shared interest," the statement read. 

"President Xi stressed that improving China-India relations serves the common interests of the two countries and peoples, and is also conducive to peace, stability and development of the world and the region. The two sides should bear in mind the overall interests of their bilateral relations and handle properly the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border region," the statement further added.

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