'China occupied land size of Delhi in Ladakh': Rahul Gandhi slams PM Modi over border standoff

Rahul Gandhi in US: Rahul Gandhi lashed out at BJP-led Centre over the border standoff with China, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not handled the situation well. He also claimed that "Chinese troops occupying land the size of Delhi in Ladakh."

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha was speaking at an interaction with media at the National Press Club in Washington DC on Tuesday.

"We've got Chinese troops occupying land the size of Delhi in Ladakh, and I think that's a disaster. The media doesn't like to write about it. How would America react if a neighbour occupied 4,000 square kilometers of its territory?"

"Would any president be able to get away with saying he's handled that well? So, I don't think Mr Modi has handled China well at all. I see no reason why Chinese troops should be sitting in our territory," he added.

Notably, in 2020, Indian and Chinese forces clashed at Galwan. Since May 2020, when Chinese troops tried to forcefully change the status quo on LAC in eastern Ladakh, both sides have been stationed in forward positions near Patrolling Point 15, which became an area of concern following the Galwan encounter.

Since 2020, more than 50,000 Indian soldiers have been stationed at forward positions along the LAC, armed with modern weapons, to prevent any unilateral moves to disrupt the status quo.