New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday reprimanded Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his statement that China annexed more than 2,000 kilometres of Indian Territory, India Today reported.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih asked why the Leader of Opposition was not raising these questions in Parliament.
During his 2023 Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi claimed that a former Army officer had told him that China had annexed 2,000 square kilometres of Indian Territory.
Hearing Gandhi's plea challenging the defamation case, the court asked how Gandhi came to know about 2,000 km being annexed by the Chinese, adding ‘If you're a true Indian, you wouldn't say it’.
The court also asked Rahul Gandhi: ‘You being leader of the Opposition, why would you say these things? Why will you not ask these questions in Parliament?’
After the Allahabad High Court dismissed his plea challenging the summoning order on May 29, Rahul Gandhi approached the apex court and argued that the case was politically motivated.
The complainant, Udai Shanker Srivastava, accused Rahul Gandhi of making derogatory remarks against the Indian Army in December 2022, during Bharat Jodo Yatra, related to the border standoff with China.
Back then, Rahul Gandhi said China should be dealt with firmly claiming that ‘they are sitting on our land and it is not something we are going to tolerate’.
‘The Prime Minister of India is the only person in the country who is under the impression that the Chinese have not taken any land from India. I recently met some ex-army people, even a delegation from Ladakh which clearly said that 2000 square kilometres of our Indian territory have been taken over by Chinese,’ Gandhi told a press meet.