'Foreign Minister Says We Can't Fight A Bigger Economy': Pawan Khera Slams Jaishankar On India-China Row

Congress leader Pawan Khera said that due to a "weak government led by a weak Prime Minister, China is repeatedly attacking us".

Attacking the Centre over the India-China border issue, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera on Friday said that the country's borders were in the hands of a weak government under a weak Prime Minister. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a clean chit to China that there was no incursion by the neighbouring country.

He said: "Due to a weak government led by a weak Prime Minister, China is repeatedly attacking us. The government is saying that 'China is a large economy; that's why we can't fight them'." "You [government] were supposed to show laal aankh [red eyes] to China. Instead you are showing laal aankh to your own people, media, and Opposition," he added.

He was referring to an interview of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar released by news agency ANI, in which he can be heard saying: "They [China] are the bigger economy. What am I going to do as a smaller economy? Pick up a fight with a bigger economy? It's not a question of reacting. It's a question of having common sense."

Khera said: "They [BJP] talk about 196 [Indo-Sino War]. We could have said that we have been Independent for only 15 years and backed off. But we did not. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, the US tried to intimidate us. Former PM Indira Gandhi had the excuse of saying we won't go up against a bigger economy. But she didn't."

On a question about his recent remarks on PM Narendra Modi, Khera declined to comment, citing that the matter was sub-judice. He only said: "I have already said that it was an inadvertent mistake."  

Pawan Khera was arrested by Assam police in a high drama over his alleged remarks on PM Narendra Modi's father.

Congress called Khera's arrest "arbitrary and dictatorial" and a "cowardly attempt" to derail the AICC plenary in Raipur. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal further said that Khera was arrested because Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scared of being questioned on his relationship with Gautam Adani. 

Khera said: "An entity joined the British to fight against India. Congress fought for India's freedom... Now, only Congress can bring the country back on track."

He took a dig at the re-election of JP Nadda as BJP's national president. "A person who has no clue how he was elected as the party president in the first place, has been re-elected. On the other hand is Congress, whose election process was laid bare before the entire nation."