IN AN all-out attack on Rahul Gandhi for his remark that Chinese soldiers are beating up Indian Army personnel in Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP said on Saturday that the Congress should expel him from the party as its President J P Nadda accused him of speaking the language of China and Pakistan.

Nadda accused Gandhi of “again lowering the morale of our Armed Forces” and slammed his comments as highly condemnable and unpardonable. “This raises question mark about his patriotism. He had also questioned surgical strikes and Balakot air strikes. It is a sad reflection of his metal bankruptcy,” Nadda said as a number of senior party leaders seized on the former Congress President’s comments to target the Opposition party which is seeking some sort of political revival with Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.

At its official briefing, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said if Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is not “remote-controlled” and if the Opposition party stands with the country, then Gandhi should be expelled for his comments as they “belittle” India and break the morale of its Armed Forces.

Bhatia likened Gandhi to Jaichand, the king of Kannauj who is projected as a betrayer to the Indian cause in some historical accounts, and alleged that he has constantly tried to break the Armed Forces’ morale, be it after the surgical and air strikes on terror camps in Pakistan or after the Galwan valley clashes, in which 20 soldiers had laid down their lives. While Gandhi allegedly sought evidence of the Armed Forces’ strikes on terrorists inside Pakistan, he called the PM “Surender Modi” after the Galwan fight, BJP leader said.

The Congress leader should tender an apology to the country for his statement, he said. His sin will not be washed away with the apology but it will at least demonstrate that he has realised his mistake, he said.

At a press conference in Jaipur on Friday during his “Bharat Jodo Yatra”, Gandhi claimed that China is preparing for a war and accused the Government of trying to “ignore” the threat, saying it is “asleep” and not ready to accept the situation. In an apparent reference to a recent clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh, he said Indian jawans in the region are being “beaten up”. Union Minister Anurag Thakur said he was not surprised by Gandhi’s statement as even at the time of the Doka La incident he was seen drinking soup with Chinese officials.

“When Indian soldiers carried out the surgical strikes, even then he raised questions. He and the Congress seem to have no faith in the Indian Army. But we have full faith in our Army. Today our Army is capable of conducting surgical strikes and gives a befitting reply to the encroachers,” he said. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said Gandhi has not only insulted the Army but also damaged the country’s image.