'India being forced to normalise ties with China': Congress kicks up a fuss as Modi's tour opens

As PM Narendra Modi starts his keenly-watched tour of Japan and China, the Congress party has alleged that India is being forced into normalising relations with China.

Calling Modi's visit a moment of reckoning for India, Congress said that it was just a Chinese trick aimed at cashing in on the the downturn in Indo-US ties, it said.


Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, underlined China's alleged collusion with Pakistan during the recent India-Pakistan war. "China's jugalbandi with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor -- revealed by our own military establishment itself -- has been forgotten," he said.

Ramesh further pointed out that the relationship with China has become precarious, particularly since the Ladakh border standoff.

The Congress leader harked back to a statement Modi made during the 2020 India-China standoff, when he said 'Na koi hamari seema mein ghus aaya hai, na hi koi ghusa hua hai'. This "bizarre" stand by Modi govt siginficantly affected India at the negotiating table, Ramesh said.

This visit by Modi is the inevitable result of that "notorious and cowardly clean chit", PTI quoted Ramesh as saying.

The opposition further claimed that Modi has neglected pressing domestic issues, notably the ongoing unrest in Manipur, PTI reported. "Even as the PM jets off abroad, the long-suffering people of Manipur are still awaiting his visit there to heal the wounds of May 2023," Ramesh said.

Ramesh said that while the Prime Minister is abroad, the people of Manipur are still awaiting his visit. Ramesh highlighted the irony of Modi's frequent international travels, suggesting that there's a big disconnect between the govt's foreign policy ambitions and domestic realities.

Modi's Japan tour includes plans to strengthen India's cultural and civilisational ties with that country. This trip is intended not only to reinforce India's relationship with Japan but also to serve India's broader national interests.

As for the PM's meeting with Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, the focus is expected to be on restoring bilateral relations that have remained strained since the standoff.