New Delhi: A day after his “everyone knows the reality” of border situation jibe, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday asked Defence Minister Rajnath Singh whether China has occupied Indian territory in Ladakh.
“Once RM is done commenting on the hand symbol, can he answer: Have the Chinese occupied Indian territory in Ladakh,” he asked on Twitter.
Singh had on Monday hit out at Gandhi using a couplet, which he claimed was of Mirza Ghalib and that he was presenting it in a different style.
Addressing a virtual rally of BJP workers in Maharashtra, Singh said, “Mirza Ghalib ka hi sher thoda alag andaaz mein hai – ‘haath’ mein dard ho to dawa kijiye, ‘haath’ hi jab dard ho to kya kijiye..” (Mirza Galib’s couplet in a different style – when there is pain in the ‘hand’, one takes medicine, but what does one do when the ‘hand’ itself is a pain).”
‘Hand’ is the Congress party’s election symbol.
Gandhi and Singh have been engaged in war of words on Twitter since Monday evening on the issue and have been taking swipes at each other by using couplets of Ghalib.
The Congress leader on Monday had 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.
“Everyone knows the reality of the ‘borders’, but the thought is good to keep one’s heart happy,” he said in a tweet in Hindi, tweaking a couplet of Ghalib.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also asked the defence minister to answer the question, saying denigrating party symbols of opposition is not defending India.
“Denigrating Party Symbols of Opposition isn’t same as ‘Defending India’. Will Rajnath Singh ji answer the simple question posed by Sh Rahul Gandhi,” Surjewala asked on Twitter.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said he hopes this hand does not break the ‘lotus’ as the entire focus is here and asked him instead to remove focus from the ‘hand’ and protect the boundaries. (‘Lotus’ is BJP’s election symbol).
There has been a standoff between India and China at the border in eastern Ladakh amid troops build-up on both sides. India has said that the border dispute would be resolved through talks.
