New Delhi [India], August 5 : Congress MP KC Venugopal on Tuesday came in defence of Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi after Supreme Court, in its observation, objected to the latter's "China occupied Indian territory" remarks.
"Who will give the definition of 'true Indian'?" Venugopal told reporters here.
He said that the discussion initiated by Rahul Gandhi was the thinking of every nationalist Indian.
"What Rahul Gandhi is discussing is the thinking of every nationalist Indian. Whenever we ask questions inside the Parliament, there is no answer. Whenever we ask questions related to national interest outside the Parliament, we are termed anti-national. We are the true Indians who are raising questions for India," Venuogpal said.
Earlier in the day, Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das said that Justice Dipankar Datta had no business to question Gandhi's "Indianness" for merely criticising the Modi government's "failure on Chinese aggression".
"Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi isn't allowed to question China in Parliament. If he does it on social media, he's asked if he's 'truly Indian'. Justice Dipankar Datta had no business to question Rahul Gandhi's 'Indianness' for criticising the Modi Govt's failure on Chinese aggression," Das posted on X.
"His father and grandmother sacrificed their lives for our country. What more proofs of 'Indianness' do they seek?" he added.
Moreover, Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot defended the LoP, saying that he did not divulge any secret when he said that 2,000 km of Indian territory is intruded by the Chinese Army.
"Rahul Gandhi did not divulge any secret. What he stated about intrusion and skirmishes in which 20 soldiers lost their lives is already in the public domain since long. The intrusion to the extent of about 2000km is also reflected in the reliable text on the internet and the Media, including the location of the intrusion," Gehlot said in a post on X.
He further said that an activist of Ladakh, Sonam Wangchuk, has also been expressing concern about Chinese incursion into Indian territory.
This comes after the Supreme Court pulled up Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged remarks on the Indian Army after a clash between the Indian and Chinese armies in the Yangsi region of Arunachal Pradesh in 2022.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih expressed disapproval of Gandhi's remarks, saying, "How does he know the Chinese occupied 2000 square kilometres of land?" and added that a true Indian wouldn't say such a thing.
Justice Datta said, "How do you get to know that 2000 square kilometres of Indian territory was occupied by China? What is the credible material? If you are a true indian, you would not say this. When there is a conflict across borders... can you say all this?"
The bench further asked senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi, why such statements were not made in Parliament but instead on social media.