Nadda diverting attention from failure in Galwan, says Amarinder

The Punjab CM said every Indian wanted to know what went wrong on LAC on June 15.

Taking exception to BJP president J P Nadda’s jibe on Rahul Gandhi over the India-China standoff, Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday termed it a “brazen attempt to distract public attention” from the central government’s failure in the Galwan Valley.

Amarinder said having failed to respond to his persistent and relevant questions on the Galwan Valley issue, the BJP-led central government was trying desperately to distract the people with its personal attack on Rahul. “Not just Rahul, but the entire country wants answers to those questions, which touch upon not only our soldiers, but every Indian who wants to know what went wrong in Galwan on June 15,” he said.

The chief minister said Rahul had been discussing the China issue with him for a long time, and had been concerned about the matter even while the central government was vehemently denying any stand-off in Galwan. Pointing to the latest statements from the Prime Minister on no intrusion having taken place in the region, he asked how the Chinese were now backing off without having entered Indian territory in the first place. “These are the kind of questions being raised by Rahul. Instead of answering them, the BJP-led government continues to be in denial even now,” he added.

Reacting to Nadda’s criticism of Rahul for not attending a single meeting of the standing committee on defence, Amarinder questioned the relevance of this to the Galwan Valley stand-off. The committee does not take on-ground decisions relating to the battle field, he remarked, adding that it was not the standing committee which decided on sending soldiers to the borders with either no or inadequate arms and ammunition. Nor does it make policy decisions on conditions in which the soldiers should or should not open fire, he said.