Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Monday sharply criticized the Centre, warning that India’s reliance on Chinese products poses a significant national security risk. He also linked the shortcomings of the ‘Make in India’ initiative to the presence of Chinese forces within Indian borders, the Hindustan Times reports.
“Our Chief of Army Staff has said the Chinese are inside our territory. This is a fact. The reason China is inside our territory is important… The reason China is sitting inside this country is because ‘Make in India has failed’.. The reason China is sitting inside this country is because India is refusing to produce, and I am worried that India is going to give up this revolution to the Chinese once again,” Rahul Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha while participating in a debate on the Motion of thanks on the President’s address on January 31.
Raising alarms about India’s defense readiness, Rahul Gandhi warned that in the event of a conflict, the country would be dependent on Chinese-made components. “If and when we fight a war with China, we will be fighting with Chinese electric motors, Chinese batteries, and Chinese optics, and we will be purchasing these from China,” the Congress leader stated, despite objections from Bharatiya Janata Party MPs.
The Congress leader criticized both the UPA and the current NDA governments for failing to address unemployment, stating that neither administration has provided a clear solution to the youth regarding employment opportunities.
He also said ‘Make in India’ was a good idea, but the prime minister “pretty much failed”.
Discussing the Congress party’s vision for the president’s address, Gandhi remarked, “We would not send our foreign minister to the United States to arrange for our prime minister to be invited to the US President’s ‘coronation.'”
In response, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju challenged Rahul Gandhi to provide evidence to back his claims regarding the government’s foreign policy.
“I heard the President’s address. I must say I struggled through the President’s address to maintain my attention on what was being said, because I’ve heard pretty much the same address before — it’s the same list of things that the government has done,” he said in the Lok Sabha.