A delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Tuesday visited the RSS headquarters in Delhi and held an hour-long meeting with Sangh general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, triggering a political row against the backdrop of Beijing’s claim on the Shaksgam Valley in Jammu and Kashmir.

The delegation had met BJP leaders on Monday as part of efforts to enhance “inter-party communication”, but its engagement with the leadership of Hindutva’s ideological fountainhead marked a rare outreach.

Last year, the RSS had not invited Chinese, Pakistani and Turkish diplomats to a lecture series addressed by Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat to mark the organisation’s centenary. The decision to exclude China and Pakistan was widely seen as linked to Operation Sindoor.

The RSS remained tight-lipped on Tuesday’s meeting, with leaders privately describing it as a “pure courtesy call”. “The request came from the Chinese side and we agreed. It was a courtesy meeting,” an RSS leader said. Bhagwat was not present at the meeting.

On Monday, a CPC delegation, led by vice-minister of the international department Sun Haiyan, visited the BJP headquarters in the first such engagement in six years. BJP leaders said the meeting followed a recent thaw in India-China ties after the 2020 Galwan clashes.

“A delegation of the Communist Party of China under the leadership of H.E. Ms Sun Haiyan visited the BJP head office today. A BJP delegation headed by party general secretary Arun Singh discussed at length ways to advance inter-party communication between the BJP and the CPC. Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong also joined,” Vijay Chauthaiwale, head of the BJP’s foreign affairs cell, posted on X on Monday evening.

Congress attack

The Congress on Tuesday accused the BJP of rolling out a “red carpet” for China, and questioned whether the ruling party had raised contentious issues such as Beijing’s claim on the Shaksgam Valley and its support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.

“The BJP has taught even a chameleon how to change its colours. Those who were supposed to show ‘laal aankh’ (red eye) to China have instead rolled out the red carpet for it,” Congress media and publicity department chairman Pawan Khera said.

Khera also flagged the Chinese delegation’s meeting with the RSS, arguing that “non-state players” should not be allowed to “control state politics”. “The ‘laal aankh’ claims have in reality become ‘laal salaam’,” he said.

The CPC delegation also met Congress leaders on Tuesday.

Accusing the BJP of “duplicity and hypocrisy”, Khera said: “For years, the BJP kept alleging that the Congress had signed an MoU, and now they themselves are holding meetings. Our concern is with the BJP’s intentions because, after such closed-door meetings, it is the country that ends up paying the price,” he said.

Questioning the BJP’s China policy, Khera added: “What kind of relationship do you have with China that you tell people not to buy Chinese decorative lights, yet award contracts to a Chinese company to manufacture meters in Jammu and Kashmir?”

The BJP hit back, saying it had “openly” held a formal meeting with the Chinese delegation in view of “improved” relations between New Delhi and Beijing. “We do not secretly sign any such MoU, which we cannot explain for years,” BJP spokesperson Tuhin Sinha said.