‘PM 100% Focused on His Own Image’: Rahul Gandhi Sharpens Attack on Modi Over China Issue

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has once again trained his guns at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his handling of the border standoff with China, saying that his government lacked a clear cut vision to take the nation forward.

“PM is 100% focused on building his own image. India’s captured institutions are all busy doing this task. One man’s image is not a substitute for a national vision,” Gandhi tweeted, along with a video in which he deliberated on how India should deal with the China situation.

The two-minute video is the latest in a series of comments made by Gandhi criticising the government's handling of tensions at the border and the novel coronavirus pandemic. The Congress leader said the lack of vision is a cause of aggravation for him as he feels a huge opportunity is being lost.

“…Because we are not thinking long term; because we are not thinking big and because we are disturbing our internal balance. We are fighting amongst each other. Just look at the politics. All day long; all day long; Indian is fighting Indian. And it is because there is no clear cut vision going forward,” he said in the video.

Sharpening his attack on the government, he said that psychologically you have to deal with the Chinese from a position of strength. “If you deal with them from a position of strength, you can work with them you can get what you need and it can be actually done. But if they sense weakness then you had it.

The first thing is you are not going take on China without a vision. And by that I don't mean a national vision. I mean an international vision,” he said, and gave the example of China’s Belt and Road initiative.

“India has to have a global vision. India now has to become an idea. And it has to become a global idea. So that’s the thing that’s going protect India… actually thinking big."

Acknowledging that the border issue first needs to be resolved, he said this is also the time to change our approach. “This this is the point at which the road parts. If we go this way we become a major player if we go this way, we become irrelevant.”

He said it was his job as an opponent of the PM to question him and put pressure on him so he does his work. “His responsibility is to give the vision. It’s not there. I can tell you, guaranteed, it's not there and that’s why China's is in there today.”