BJP leader alleges ‘secret China deal’ by Sonia, Rahul

Days after BJP MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore sparked a row over his statement in the Lok Sabha that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi “should be tried for treason,” the senior leader from Rajasthan on Saturday cited “secret deal with China” during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and said, “I stand by my words.”

Rathore had on Thursday in his speech in the Parliament alleged that during the Beijing Olympics, where he was present, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were supposed to meet the athletes. However, the mother-son duo did not meet them and instead ‘met the Communist Party of China’. Rathore charged that ‘they should be tried for treason’.

Following the statement, Congress leader Ajay Maken questioned the BJP MP’s claims via a news article of the incident dated August 24, 2017 on a post on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, and requested floor leaders to initiate breach of privilege proceedings against Rathore.

“If true, as a former Speaker of Delhi Legislative Assembly, I request our floor leaders to initiate breach of privilege proceedings against Sh. Rathore,” he said.

Rathore responded to the breach of privilege proceedings request by Congress and defended his statements stating that on the Beijing Olympics event, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi’s car stopped on the road for 2 minutes and they went away from there.

Explaining the rationale behind his treason allegations in his Lok Sabha speech, he explained that in 2008, a meeting occurred with the Communist Party of China, not as representatives of the government, but rather for a clandestine interaction. “The undisclosed nature of this discussion is something the country wants to comprehend,” Rathore said.

The BJP leader said such a incident has “never happened in history, nor is there any permission for a political party to engage with a country’s rival, especially in a single-party system like theirs, where the general secretary at that time was Xi Jinping, who is now the president. Rahul Gandhi signed the deal, Xi Jinping signed the deal. What was the purpose of the deal made by the Congress government, which appeared to be operating via remote control without any accountable authority? The nation wants to know what kind of arrangement was made, how India’s interests were compromised and what concessions were given to the CPC.”

“If someone in the military were to engage in such secrecy, they would face a court-martial and be charged with treason. But those who control India’s armed forces are involved in secret agreements. So, why should they not face charges of treason?” he added.

Addressing Maken, he said that the discussion pertains to Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, who, as leaders of the Congress party, were involved in a covert understanding. “Now why they should not be tried for treason? They should definitely be tried for treason and I stand on my words,” he said.