'Army Chief’s referred solely to...': Rajnath Singh fires back at Rahul Gandhi over China remarks in Parliament

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday strongly rebutted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claims regarding the Indian Army’s stance on the China border situation. In a post on X, Singh accused Gandhi of making "false allegations" about the Army Chief's remarks on the India-China border.

"Shri Rahul Gandhi in his speech in Parliament on 03 February 2025 made false allegations about the statement of the Army Chief on the situation on the India-China border," Singh wrote. He clarified that the Army Chief’s comments referred solely to disturbances in traditional patrolling by both sides, which, according to Singh, "have been restored to their traditional pattern as part of the recent disengagement."

Singh said the statements attributed to the Army Chief by Gandhi "were never spoken by him at any time." Calling Gandhi’s remarks "irresponsible politics on matters of national interest," the Defence Minister expressed deep regret over the issue.

Singh further stated, "If at all there is Indian Territory into which China has come, this is 38,000 sq. km in Aksai Chin as a result of the 1962 conflict and 5,180 sq. km illegally ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963." He urged Gandhi to introspect on this phase of India's history, implicitly pointing to the period when the Congress was in power.

The Defence Minister's remarks came in response to Rahul Gandhi’s speech during the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in Parliament, where Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister had denied Chinese incursions into Indian territory, contradicting the Army’s position.

"Our Chief of Army Staff has said the Chinese are inside our territory. This is a fact," Gandhi claimed, linking the situation to economic issues, including the failure of the 'Make in India' initiative.