Rahul Gandhi skipped 11 meetings on defense, BJP slams him
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi who has been questioning the government over tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and has repeatedly asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "come clean" on the situation has, surprisingly, not attended a single meeting of the Standing Committee on Defense since September. This information posed as an opportunity for BJP leaders; Gandhi was slammed for his "seriousness."
The committee has 31 members, 21 are from Lok Sabha
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defense consists of 31 members — 21 from Lok Sabha and remaining from Rajya Sabha. This committee, headed by BJP MP Jual Oram, is tasked with scrutinizing major bills related to defense and holding discussions on defense-related matters. The members' term doesn't exceed one year. The last meeting was held on March 12, and Rahul skipped that too.
Rahul lacks seriousness in governance matters: BJP leader
When details showed that Rahul had skipped all 11 meetings, BJP leaders lambasted him. The saffron party's Bizay Sonkar Shastri told The Print that Rahul has been speaking so much about Indo-China tensions and "the parliamentary committee is where he could have made real contributions, but (he) chose not to. This just shows his level of seriousness on issues of governance."
Further, Nadda said Rahul is demoralizing the nation
Likewise, BJP President JP Nadda tweeted this morning that Rahul continues to "demoralize the nation, question the valor of our armed forces and do everything that a responsible opposition leader should not do." He also re-upped the dynasty jibe, saying Rahul comes from a family where committees for defense don't matter, only commissions do. Nadda has also accused Rahul of trying to divide the nation.
According to Nadda, Congress' deserving members can "never grow"
Congress defended Rahul, said he isn't the reason behind tensions
On its part, Congress defended Rahul, saying his absence from the meetings isn't the reason why Eastern Ladakh is simmering with tensions. "It isn't the reason why we witnessed the first deaths at the LAC in the last 45 years," party spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said. He said PM Modi should answer why tensions peaked despite his amiable bond with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Once, Rahul told PM Modi to not be "scared"
Since the stand-off at Eastern Ladakh began, Rahul has been berating PM Modi, going as far as saying that he shouldn't be "scared" of the Chinese while assuring that India stands with him. More recently, he shared a video, purportedly shot in Ladakh, where locals stated China captured Indian territory. Subsequently, BJP accused Rahul of passing Congress workers as Ladakhis to score political points.
