Rahul Gandhi, in a tweet today questioned when the matters of national security will be discussed.

New Delhi:

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi took on friend and foe today with a tweet, which, refereeing to the events at Ladakh, questioned, “questioned, “When will there be talk of national security”. With a tweet or more a day, the Congress chief has been attacking the government since June 15 — when 20 Indian soldiers were killed in action at Galwan Valley during a clash with the Chinese troops, who have been making steady ingress into India.

The timing and the phrasing of the tweet — “Kab hogi rashtra raksha aur suraksha ki baat (when will we talk of national security and security)” — reinforced the attack on the Prime Minister. The post came shortly before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to address the nation in is monthly radio address “Mann ki Baat”.

Sources in Mr Gandhi’s office said the tweet was also a response to ally Sharad Pawar, who — amid the Congress-BJP face-off over Ladakh — said yesterday that matters of national security shouldn’t be politicized.

One cannot forget China had captured about 45,000 sq km of Indian territory after the 1962 war, Mr Pawar had added in a remark seen as a dig at Congress. Mr Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress are partners in the Shiv Sena-led ruling alliance in Maharashtra.

“That land is still with China. I don’t know if they (China) have encroached on some area now again. But when I make an allegation, I should also see what had happened when I was there (in power). If such big land was encroached upon then, it cannot be ignored. It is a matter of national security and it should not be politicised is what I feel,” said Mr Pawar, who handled earlier the defence portfolio.

During the 1962 war, Mr Gandhi’s great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was leading the country — a fact that has been repeatedly cited by the BJP.

During an interview with ANI today, Union home minister Amit Shah said the government was ready for a debate in parliament on the Ladakh issue.

“No one is shying away from a discussion… Let us discuss from ’62 till now. But at a time our jawans are fighting it out at the border and the government has taken a tough stand, we should not be giving out statement that favour China and Pakistan,” Mr Shah had said.