'BJP rationalising Chinese actions': Congress slams Pema Khandu's remark on India-China border

The Arunachal Pradesh chief minister said 'transgression has happened, no doubt' but 'keeps happening' as there is no line demarcation along Arunachal's nearly 1,200 km border with Tibet-China and that the Chinese do not consider the McMahon Line, bordering Arunachal

Congress on Friday accused BJP leaders of "rationalising" Chinese actions instead of asserting India's position, after Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu said "transgression keeps happening" because the border was not "properly defined".

The opposition party's attack comes a day after Khandu said, "The Chinese do not consider the McMahon Line, bordering Arunachal, so sometimes it happens... Arunachal shares a very long border with Tibet-China, nearly 1,200 km."

"Transgression has happened, no doubt. But it keeps happening; it is not a new thing. Because there is no line demarcation at the border, it is not defined," Khandu said, without specifying which transgression he was referring to.

He clarified that the current situation in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh is normal, and the Indian armed forces are guarding the borders very well. He asserted that there is "no matter of tension" right now.

Khandu made the remarks in response to a query on the controversy over recent comments from a few quarters that confrontations with Chinese troops continue to take place in many sites along the borders in Arunachal Pradesh.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that only this summer, Khandu dismissed reports of Chinese incursions in Taksing but now admits that "no doubt transgression has happened".

"So much for the PM's 'na koi ghusa hai'. Worse, he treats it as normal: 'It keeps happening. It is nothing new.' 'The situation is quite normal now'. 'Our soldiers go (to) that side, their patrolling parties also come (to) this side sometimes.'

"The CM said this a week after the ITBP Director General confirmed face-offs at several locations in Arunachal. Some are still ongoing," Ramesh said on X.

Most disturbing of all, the chief minister blames a border that is "not defined", the Congress leader said. "Instead of asserting India's position, BJP leaders are rationalising Chinese actions".

"Nothing about this is normal. This is the new abnormal. Corps Commander talks had to be held at Wacha-Damai in September 2026 after the Taksing face-off," he said.

Ramesh claimed that locals report that People's Liberation Army (PLA) camps on the Indian side and patrolling points have been lost once again. China renames Indian towns and is building a 60,000-MW dam at the Great Bend.

"Yet the self-anointed Vishwaguru rolls out the red carpet for Chinese capital, even as a record USD 112.6 billion trade deficit crushes our MSMEs (micro, small, medium enterprises). 'Make in India' has become 'Import from China'.

"The issue is no longer just Chinese transgressions. It is the BJP's growing tendency to treat them as normal," Ramesh said.

The Arunachal Pradesh chief minister, of course, will say what he is told to say by the prime minister, the Congress leader claimed.

"After all, he has been continuing in office even though the Supreme Court had on April 6, 2026 ordered a CBI inquiry into decisions he had taken as PWD Minister between 2015 and 2025 that reportedly benefited his family members to the tune of over Rs 1,200 crores," Ramesh said.

Last week, the Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Shatrujeet Kapur, said that confrontations with Chinese troops continue to take place at many sites along the borders in Arunachal Pradesh, triggering a row.

Khandu was interacting with the media shortly before the inauguration of the 14th International Tourism Mart here, in the presence of Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and other dignitaries.

Asked about the recent row, Khandu said he came across the matter in news reports, which is being "discussed around".

The Congress on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the reported "face-offs" with the Chinese army in Arunachal Pradesh, saying, there has been a "deafening silence" on it from him and his establishment, while the "self-styled vishwaguru's calibrated concessions" to China continue.

The Congress has in the past attacked the Modi government over its handling of ties with China and the "Chinese incursions". The government has in the past rejected the claims of the opposition.

The BJP had earlier accused the Congress of demoralising the armed forces.