Rahul's Remarks on Sino-India Border Issue Against National Interest: Former Army Officers

A group of retired officers of the armed forces on Tuesday deplored Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statements on India-China border issue, terming them as ill-conceived and against national interest.

They said the Congress leader's tweets and statements on border dispute with China "betray his lack of knowledge or are a convenient attempt to ignore historical blunders of Jawaharlal Nehru era".

"We, as a group of senior armed forces veterans, strongly deplore the ill-conceived and ill-timed statements and tweets of Rahul Gandhi questioning the handling of India-China border disputes by our armed forces and the Government of India," the group of nine retired army officers, including Lt Gen Nitin Kohli, Lt Gen RN Singh and Maj Gen M Srivastava, said in a statement.

His statements are "patently harmful to our national interest. In the past too, Rahul Gandhi and Congress leaders questioned the Indian armed forces' ground and air strikes", they said.

"Does Rahul Gandhi not know that Tibet was handed over to China on a platter by Mr Nehru and China constructed roads through Aksai Chin and later occupied it when Nehru was the prime minister," retired army officers asked.

They blamed the Congress for the lack of infrastructure in border areas and said the party that ruled India for the longest period, is "squarely responsible for neglecting the border infrastructure development".

Underlining that opposition parties need to be sensitive and supportive in such important matters of national security and sovereignty, the group said they should support the government in its endeavour to resolve the border issue with China. Any attempts to the contrary are unforgivable and prejudicial to national interest.

The veterans were all praise for the present government saying that it is committed to developing the required infrastructure in border areas, which had not been done after the 1962 war to enhance India's combat effectiveness.

"Indian government is also dealing very deftly diplomatically and supporting armed forces in resolutely protecting our borders," the statement said.

The Congress leader had on Monday taken a dig at Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his remarks that India is strong in protecting its borders, and said the truth seems dormant as "everyone knows" the reality of the situation at the country's borders.