Delhi: The Congress party in a statement on Monday, January 30, accused the Modi government’s China policy to be one of “DDLJ”, which is “Deny, Distract, Lie and Justify”.
“Since May 2020, the Modi government’s preferred strategy to deal with the Chinese incursions in Ladakh can be summed up with DDLJ-Deny, Distract, Lie and Justify,” the Congress party said.
DDLJ is usually used to refer to Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol’s runaway hit movie, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. The Congress statement though does not make any reference to the film.
Since May 2020, the Modi govt’s preferred strategy to deal with the Chinese incursions has been summed up with DDLJ – Deny, Distract, Lie, Justify. Attacking the Congress party is BJP's latest bid to divert attention from the Modi govt’s failed China policy.
: @Jairam_Ramesh Ji pic.twitter.com/XekypAfVGC
Advertisement— Congress (@INCIndia) January 30, 2023
In a statement issued on Monday, January 30, Congress general secretary in-charge communications and Rajya Sabha MP, Jairam Ramesh said, “External Affairs minister S. Jaishankar’s recent remarks attacking the Congress party are simply the latest attempt to divert attention from the Modi government’s failed China policy, the most recent revelation being that since May 2020 India has lost access to 26 of 65 patrolling points in Ladakh.”
This refers to a recent conference of top police officers of the country, attended by PM Modi and home minister Shah, where a paper presented said that India no longer could patrol “26 out of 65 patrolling points in Ladakh”. The Wire reported on how this research paper was one of 15 submitted at the meet, but it was not taken up for discussion.
Ramesh denied suggestions that the situation on the Line of Actual Control or the LAC since 2020 and that when India went to war with China in 1962 could be compared. “The fact is that there is no comparison between 1962, when India went to war with China to defend its territory, and 2020 after which India has acquiesced to Chinese aggression with denials followed by ‘disengagements’ in which India has lost access to thousands of square kilometres of territory,” he said.
The Congress leader’s statement further said, “No amount of obfuscation can hide the fact that the Modi government has sought to cover up India’s biggest territorial setback in decades that followed PM Modi’s naive wooing of President Xi.”
On Saturday, The Hindu reported that external affairs minister Jaishankar had said some people were deliberately spreading wrong news about the China issue knowing it is not true, only for the sake of politics. He alleged that by talking about some land, which was taken by China in 1962, they give the impression this had happened recently.
Jaishankar said, “If you want to ask why they have no confidence, why are they misleading people, why they spread the wrong khabar (news) about China? How can I answer these questions? Because I know they are also doing politics. Sometimes they deliberately spread such news that they know is not true.”
“Sometimes, they talk about some land, which was taken by China in 1962. But they will not tell you the truth. They will give you the impression that this thing happened yesterday,” he said without referring to anyone in particular.
But the remarks were widely viewed as a snide remark at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who has repeatedly alleged that India has lost territory to China since 2020 and also that “it is clear that they (China) are preparing for a full [military] offensive. In contrast, our government is asleep and is not able to accept it.”
Jaishankar was speaking in Pune when he was interacting with the audience during the launch of Bharat Marg, the Marathi translation of his book The India Way.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, responding to Jaishankar’s remarks, said, “EAM Jaishankar’s implied cheap shot at Rahul Gandhi for meeting the Chinese ambassador in 2017 is ironic to say the least coming from someone who as ambassador to the US during the Obama administration presumably met with leading Republicans.”
He queried, “Are opposition leaders not entitled to meet diplomats from countries that are important from a trade, investment and security standpoint?”
Accusing the Union government of not taking the opposition into confidence, Ramesh wrote, “The Modi government should have been truthful from the start and taken the opposition into confidence by discussing the China crisis in parliamentary standing committees and debating the issue in Parliament. At a very minimum it should have held detailed briefings for leaders of major political parties. It is extraordinary that EAM Jaishankar has admitted on several occasions that he has no idea why China has turned aggressive on the Line of Actual Control, notwithstanding the unusually frequent contacts between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping and the PM’s boast that he enjoys a special ‘Plus One’ relationship with President Xi.”
Ramesh concluded his statement by saying, “We suggest that EAM Jaishankar and the government spend more time trying to get Chinese troops out of Depsang and Demchok and less time on blaming the opposition for their own incompetence.”
