PM Modi Could’ve Stopped Doklam Standoff: Rahul Gandhi in London

Rahul Gandhi claimed that the “truth is the Chinese are still in Doklam today”.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi in London. 

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@INCIndia)

Video Producer: Priyale Chandra

Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma

Addressing the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London on Friday, 24 August, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the Doklam standoff with China was not an "isolated issue", but part of a "sequence of events", and if Prime Minister Narendra Modi had carefully watched the developments as they happened, India could have stopped it.

During the event, Gandhi also drew an analogy between the idea of the RSS and that of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Arab World.

The Congress president is on a two-day visit to the United Kingdom.

[The] Prime Minister is episodic. He views Doklam as an event... Doklam is not an isolated issue. It was a part of a sequence of events, it was a process. If he (PM Modi) was carefully watching the process, he could’ve stopped it.

Rahul Gandhi at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, as quoted by PTI

He claimed that the "truth is, the Chinese are still in Doklam today", reported PTI.

Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh told Rajya Sabha last month that there have been no new developments at the site of the face-off with China in Doklam and its vicinity, and that the status quo prevails in the area.

Tensions between India and China reached their peak during a 73-day standoff last year in Doklam near Bhutan over Beijing's construction of a road in the area.

The standoff ended on 28 August 2017 after both sides agreed to disengage, and there have been no confirmed or official reports of China resuming any activities since then.

'RSS' Idea is Similar to the Idea of Muslim Brotherhood in Arab Word'

In his address in London, Gandhi once again attacked the BJP's ideological parent, the RSS, saying that the organisation's idea is similar to that of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Arab world.

RSS is trying to change the nature of India. There is no other organisation in India that wants to capture India’s institutions... [RSS’] idea is similar to the idea that exists in the Arab World with the Muslim Brotherhood. The idea is that one ideology should run through every single institution, one idea should crush all other ideas.

Rahul Gandhi in London

Gandhi's speech in London comes a day after he addressed the Indian Overseas Congress in Berlin, where he attacked the BJP and the RSS, accusing them of spreading hatred in India. Gandhi was in Germany for two days before he reached London on Friday, 24 August.

In London, Gandhi is also slated to hold a series of meetings with MPs and address a meeting of overseas Indians.