CWC meet to target govt’s ‘national security’ and ‘vikas’ planks

New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee meeting on Tuesday is likely to target the Modi government and BJP over their three top political and electoral planks — ‘national security, nationalism and economic growth’ — by raising border skirmishes with China and the Nepal map issue, as well as the economic ‘meltdown’, ‘large-scale unemployment’ and fuel price hikes.

The Congress leadership thinks the government’s “difficulty” in “effectively tackling” the perceived Chinese intrusion into Indian areas and the skirmishes that took the lives of 20 Indian soldiers has put it in a spot. The manner in which the PM denied any Chinese intrusion and the subsequent government clarification following protests have hit the credentials built by the ruling establishment with the surgical strikes on Pakistan, the party circles think.

Rahul Gandhi’s tweets attacking the PM over the Chinese issue, including his latest taunt, “Narendra Modi is actually Surender Modi”, is aimed at driving that point.

The “Chinese provocation”, some Congress leaders feel, “unlike Pakistani violations” won’t provide BJP a communal angle to try and polarise domestic politics. While paying tributes to the martyred soldiers and asserting the party’s support to the government and forces, the CWC will have some questions on how did the Chinese intrusion and killing of Indian soldiers happened and how the PM was planning to move them back.