Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that what had happened in Ladakh was “extremely shameful”, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of misleading the nation about the Chinese intrusion and forcible occupation of Indian territory.

Refusing to get lost in the web of diversionary ploys like the special Parliament session and the one-nation-one-election plan, the former Congress president kept the focus on China and the Adani nexus, taking upon himself the onerous task of unravelling Modi’s carefully crafted image.

Apart from sharing his experiences from his recent Ladakh visit, Rahul said: “The Prime Minister and the BJP are a nexus of corruption and that is the first thing that the INDIA alliance is going to demonstrate and prove.”

Addressing a news conference after the Mumbai conclave, Rahul said: “I spent a week in Ladakh.”

Rahul added: “I went to Pangong Tso lake, right in front of which the Chinese are, and I had detailed discussions (with the people of Ladakh). Probably the most detailed discussions that any politician outside Ladakh has had with the people of Ladakh and, specifically, the shepherds of Pangong Tso lake.

“The leaders of Pangong Tso lake area and the common people who live around Pangong Tso lake... they categorically told me that the Chinese have taken Indian land. They categorically told me that the Prime Minister is lying... (when he says) that the Chinese have not taken Indian land. Every single person in Ladakh knows that the people... have been betrayed by the Government of India.”

He said: “There is clearly an accommodation that has happened between the government and the Chinese. There is clearly a change on the borders. Our shepherds themselves told us that they are not being allowed into the areas where they were allowed (earlier). So, this is known to everybody. Unfortunately, our press doesn’t raise these issues. But these are issues of national importance, of national security and it is extremely shameful, what has happened in Ladakh.”

Adani issue

On the Adanis, Rahul said: “I did a press conference yesterday and the nexus between the Prime Minister and a particular businessman is there for every single person to see. I mentioned yesterday in my press conference that the G20 is taking place and it is very important for India’s credibility, our nation’s credibility that the Prime Minister makes his position very clear and begins an inquiry on what has happened with regard to Mr Adani.”

He added: “The idea behind Prime Minister Modi’s government is to extract money from the poor people of this country and transfer it to a limited few, and so we are going to propose a clear development path. We are going to put together a clear set of ideas that will once again involve the poor people, the farmers, the kisans, the workers in the progress of this country.”

Later, referring to the revelation that the Modi government has known about the case against the Adanis since 2014, Rahul tweeted: “The Nexus selling Bharat.”

K.C. Venugopal also tweeted about this, saying: “31 January 2014 – Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) writes to the then SEBI chairman to look into the siphoning off of Rs 6,278 crore from India to Mauritius, via Dubai. May 26, 2014 — Narendra Modi takes office. The matter goes into cold storage. 2017 — The SEBI chairman gives Adani a clean chit. 2023 – the same individual is appointed Director on the NDTV Board. Aap chronology samjhe?”