Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj had bowed down to Chinese power on the Doklam standoff.
The Doklam plateau, near the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction, was the site of a 74-day-long standoff between Indian and Chinese troops from June to August 2017. Since the standoff ended, both countries have maintained that talks are on to improve ties. In January, India had dismissed news reports claiming that Chinese forces were still present in the region and were building a military complex there as inaccurate.
Gandhi took to Twitter to criticise Swaraj. “Amazing how a lady like Sushma ji has buckled and prostrated herself in front of Chinese power,” Gandhi tweeted. “Absolute subservience to the leader means our brave jawan has been betrayed on the border.”
Gandhi shared an article that quoted United States lawmaker Ann Wagner, who claimed that China had resumed its activities in the Doklam area. In a Congressional hearing, Wagner had said neither Bhutan nor India had “sought to dissuade” China’s resumption of activities in Doklam.
However, on July 27, Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh reiterated India’s stance that the “status quo” prevailed in the Doklam area.
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