Rahul Gandhi targets PM Modi on Azhar issue

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being ‘weak and scared’ before Chinese President Xi Jingping after India’s effort to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist was once again blocked by China at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

The BJP hit back by blaming his great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru for ‘making’ China a permanent member of the UNSC.

“Weak Modi is scared of Xi. Not a word comes out of his mouth when China acts against India,” tweeted Mr. Gandhi after China used the ‘hold’ option to block India’s efforts to rally permanent members of the UNSC.

“NoMo’s China Diplomacy: 1. Swing with Xi in Gujarat 2. Hug Xi in Delhi 3. Bow to Xi in China,” he said.

The BJP’s official handle, tagging Mr. Gandhi, tweeted, “China wouldn’t be in UNSC had your great grandfather not ‘gifted’ it to them at India’s cost. India is undoing all mistakes of your family. Be assured that India will win the fight against terror.”

“Leave it to PM Modi while you keep cosying up with the Chinese envoys secretly,” it added.

Mr. Gandhi’s attack on Mr. Modi comes after China, for the fourth time, put a “hold” on a proposal to declare Azhar as a “global terrorist” under the ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee (1267 Sanctions Committee) of the UNSC.

The proposal was moved by the U.S., the U.K. and France after India stepped up diplomatic efforts to corner Pakistan for hosting the JeM chief in it’s territory.

Pakistan-based JeM had claimed responsibility for the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which more than 40 CRPF personnel were killed.