Why is Modi govt 'running away' from debate on India-China border crisis? asks Owaisi

Asaduddin Owaisi, PTI Photo

AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday lit into the NDA government at the Centre over the India-China border row, and sought to know why it was "running away" from a discussion in Parliament on the issue, if it has nothing to hide.

Addressing reporters here, he said, "It is completely bluster and bluff. If the Modi government has nothing to hide, why is it running away from a debate in Parliament?"

He was responding to a query about External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's reported comments on the India-China border dispute in an interview to a news agency.

"It is a fact that the NDA government does not want to debate on the Chinese PLA Army occupying 2,000 sq km of land in Depsong and Demchok," he claimed.

"... is he (Jaishankar) accepting that the Prime Minister misled the nation by saying 'na koi ghusa hai, na koi ghusega?" the Hyderabad MP asked.

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Citing a research paper submitted at the annual police meet held in Delhi in January last, he said the Indian army has lost access to 26 out of 65 patrolling points along the LAC.

How can the External Affairs Minister forget the paper presented in the DGPs conference? Owaisi asked.

"Basically, we have not got the status quo ante which was there before 2020 June or July."

Owaisi accused the NDA government of being "scared of truth" and said a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots had to be banned by it.

Hitting out at former Rajasthan Deputy CM Sachin Pilot, the Hyderabad MP charged that the Congress leader took the help of the BJP when he wanted to become chief minister of that state.

"He (Pilot) wanted to become the chief minister and he took the help of BJP. The whole world knows about it. He brought his group MLAs and he was supported, promoted, encouraged by the BJP. He was not successful in achieving that, that is true," he said.

Owaisi further asserted that AIMIM has been consistently fighting the BJP on ideological grounds.

Referring to the killing of two Rajasthan men in Haryana recently, the AIMIM chief said Pilot could not utter the names of the deceased -- 'Junaid and Naseer' and wanted to know what would be the former's reaction if those belonging to his own community were killed the same way.

Owaisi took AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge's comments that an alliance led by the Congress would come to power at the Centre next year with a pinch of salt, saying there are several internal squabbles within the grand old party.

"It would be known in 2024. We cannot say anything now," he said.

In 2019, the Congress and BJP were in direct contest in 186 Lok Sabha seats and the former could win only 16 seats.

"Their party's senior leader lost in Amethi," Owaisi said.

He also recalled the electoral failures of Congress in Telangana, Maharashtra and Delhi Assembly polls despite being in power in those states once.

On Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan's alleged remarks in support of uniform civil code, Owaisi said, "the Governor, unfortunately, is behaving as a ruling party member".

"I am not denying that he has no right to say. But, the Governor's post, conventionally, the Governors do not interfere in the promotion of the ruling party's agenda or politics . That is what he has been doing."

Claiming that triple talaq has not done justice to Muslim women, he quesionted why Khan cannot talk about the "Hindu undivided tax rebate", condemn the "love jihad laws" and discuss the "religious conversion laws" passed by BJP.

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