‘BJP Shying Away From Acknowledging…’: Mehbooba Mufti Backs Rahul On ‘Chinese Incursion’ In Ladakh

During his Ladakh trip, Rahul Gandhi said that the people in the region are “not happy” with the status that has been given to them, and China has occupied their grazing land.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti during a press conference in Srinagar where she backed Rahul Gandhi's claim of Chinese incursion in Ladakh

Source : PTI

People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday backed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remark on China occupying land in Ladakh saying this is what people of Leh have been claiming. On Sunday, the Congress MP cornered Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying his claim that not an inch of land was taken by Chinese troops in Ladakh was not true during his visit to the Himalayan region. He stated that the people in the region have said that the Chinese army entered the area and took away their grazing land.

“It’s not just today that Rahul Gandhi is talking about it, it has been many many years since the Chinese army has come into the Ladakh territory and occupied over 1000 square kilometres of land where people of Leh used to take their animals for grazing, now they can't go there,” she said while speaking to reporters in Srinagar. 

#WATCH | Srinagar, J&K | On Rahul Gandhi's China remark, PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti says "It is not just today that Rahul Gandhi is talking about it, it has been last many many years since the Chinese Army has come into the Ladakh territory...The people of Leh are claiming that… pic.twitter.com/H464tymKSL

— ANI (@ANI) August 21, 2023

“It’s not about what Rahul Gandhi is expressing, it’s about what people of Leh are claiming that they can’t take their animals anymore for grazing because China has occupied that land,” she added.

Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Centre, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said, “It’s very unfortunate that the BJP government is shying away from acknowledging the fact because if they would, then people would ask what they did to drive out China. There have been 30-40 rounds of talks with China but they are unable to push them back.”

During his Ladakh trip, Rahul Gandhi said that the people in the region are “not happy” with the status that has been given to them, and they have so many complaints.

"Here, the concern is of course China has taken away the land...people have said that China's army has entered the area and their grazing land was taken away but PM said that not an inch of land was taken away, but this is not true, you can ask anyone here," Rahul Gandhi said, as quoted by ANI.   

Rahul also paid tribute to his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary in Ladakh.