Rajnath flays Centre over handling of China

Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), Jan 30 (PTI) President of
India's main opposition BJP, Rajnath Singh Friday accused
China of having an "aggressive" and "expansionist" agenda to
encircle India which was reflected in its claim over India's
northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh and deployment of
massive forces along the border.

Addressing the press here on his maiden visit to this
Himalayan state, Singh said the Congress-led UPA government
lacked diplomatic acumen to exert pressure on China to give up
its claim over Arunachal.

"Once the BJP-led NDA comes back to power at the Centre
it will make China accept Arunachal as an integral part of
India through diplomatic skill as was done in case of Sikkim
during the NDA rule," he said.

Asked if External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukharjee's
reported November 9 statement at Tawang that no power could
snatch Arunachal or any part of it from India suffice, Singh
said only statement would not do.

"China has already built the Beijing-Tibet railway line
up to Arunachal border with massive deployment of forces,
developed Yunan (China)-Erabadi sea port (Myanmar) route and
under the China-Bangladesh strategic treaty it reached the
Chittagong Port in Bay of Bengal, and had installed signal
collection facility at Kokobir to collect India's sensitive
data," he alleged.

Singh said China had also threatened to demolish the
stone demarcation at Finger Nail on Sikkim border and already
had demolished some army bunkers.

With a Naval fleet of 860 ships including 68
submarines, China had made great stride in its plan to
encirlce India and Mukharjee's statement was of no use, Singh
alleged.

Terming the country's foreign policy as
"directionless", Singh said when Pakistani elements attacked
Mumbai, India's Foreign Secretary rushed to Washington to
submit proof which showed the weakness of the present
government.

"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh once announced to turn
Mumbai into Shanghai within five years but it has became
actually a Baghdad," he said.

Asked about the prospect of NDA returning to power,
the saffron party leader said since 2004, 22 states went to
polls and BJP and its allies captured power in 17 and BJP did
well in the recent by-elections in Karnataka which indicated
voters' choice for NDA in the next general elections. PTI PGD
PMR
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