China standard map a 'serious issue', PM should speak: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi [India] : Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday termed the issue of China releasing its latest edition of 'standard map' including the disputed areas in Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as a part of its territory as a "serious issue". The Congress MP had already raised concerns that China had already snatched land in Ladakh.

Recalling that he has been speaking about the Ladakh land issue for years, Rahul Gandhi demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should speak on the issue. Speaking to the media at the Delhi Airport ahead of his Karnataka visit, Gandhi said, "I have been saying this for many years... What the prime minister has said, I have just returned from Ladakh... What the prime minister has said...That not an inch of land has been invaded..it is totally false". The Congress leader claimed that all the people of Ladakh know that China has "intruded upon" Indian land.

Answering a question on China incorporating Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai China in its new map, Rahul Gandhi said," The question of the map is a very serious one. But they (China) have captured our land. The prime minister should also speak on this issue". The former Congress president was on his way to Mysuru in Karnataka where he along with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will attend the launch event of the State Government's Gruha Lakshmi scheme.

This scheme will be rolled out at a public function in Mysuru in the presence state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and senior leaders of the party. Under the scheme, one among five poll promises made by the Congress during its election campaign, the state government will provide Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of the family of BPL families.

China on Monday released the 2023 edition of its “standard map,” which shows the state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region as part of its territory. Earlier this month, during his visit to Ladakh, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi hit out at the Centre, saying that its claim that not an inch of Indian land was taken by China's People Liberation Army (PLA) troops "is not true". (with agency inputs)