Rahul explains why China chose now to intrude in Ladakh

New Delhi, July 17 (IANS) Former Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi on Friday once again slammed the Narendra Modi government over the face-off with China in Ladakh. He said China chose this time to intrude in our land as India's foreign policy, economy and relationship with neighbouring countries are disrupted.

In the first video of his series, Rahul Gandhi explained the reasons of China 'selecting this time to intrude in our land'.

He has been critical of the government over the handling of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) situation with the China after the killing of 20 Indian soldiers, including an officer on June 15 in Ladakh's Galwan area by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). He has questioned the government over its claim that China did not occupy or intrude into India.

Firing salvos at the government over China's intrusion in India, Rahul Gandhi said, "The question is why the Chinese choose this particular time to move. What is it about the India's situation that has made China act in such an aggressive way. What is about this moment of time to have the confidence that they can move against country like India?"

The Congress MP from Kerala's Wayanad said that to understand this, one has to go to multiple spaces. He said that the countries are protected not by a particular way, but by a confluence of systems of foreign relationships, neighbourhood, economy and the feeling and vision people have.

"And what has happened over the last six years that all those areas that India has been disturbed and disrupted," he said, adding, "And I will cover all those."

Talking about India's foreign policy, the Congress leader said, "Our relationship with outside world used to be with multiple countries. We had a relationship with the US, strategic partnership with the US, I will say and that is very important. We had relationship with Russia and Europe and these countries used to manoeuvre in the world.

"Today our relationship has become a transactional. We have transactional relationship with the US, we have disturbed relation with the Russians. We have a transactional relationship with Europe," he said. Coming to the India's relations with neighbouring countries, Rahul Gandhi said that earlier Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka were friends.

"Our neighbourhood other than Pakistan was working with India and saw itself as being partnered with India. Today Nepal is angry with India, go to Nepal and speak to the Nepalese people they are furious with what has happened. He said that Sri Lanka has given its port to China, Maldives is disturbed, Bhutan is disturbed. "We have disrupted our foreign partners and neighbourhood," he said.

Speaking about the Indian economy, Rahul Gandhi said, "Our pride, something that India used to go to the rest of the world and talk about and boost about. Worst economic growth in 50 years, no end in sight, absolute disaster, unemployment highest in 40-50 years." He pointed out that "our strengths suddenly became our weaknesses.

"We told the government please look, realise that we are becoming vulnerable. All these things are connected and they are not separate. When you look at the nation, then you have to look at all these factors and you have to act and take into account all these factors," he noted.

He further said, "We told the government to listen for God's sake and inject the money into the economy, fire the economy and do it immediately, protect the SMEs.

"But they refused to do it. So, today, you have a country which is economically in trouble, in trouble as far as foreign policy is concerned, troubled as far as the neighbours are concerned and that's why the Chinese have decided that it is possibly the best time to act and that is why they have acted," Rahul Gandhi added.

The former Congress chief has also been critical of the government over the Rs 20 lakh crore financial package to boost the Indian economy.