Congress accuses Modi government of 'conspiratorial silence' on Doklam

BENGALURU: Raising a stink over Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj keeping mum over Doklam during bilateral meetings with their Chinese counterparts in Beijing, the Congress has accused the Narendra Modi government of 'conspiratorial silence'.

Party communications chief Randeep Singh Surjewala, speaking in Bengaluru on Wednesday, said the government was caught snoozing while China is attempting to intrude into Siliguri Corridor through South Doklam.

"The two Union ministers have failed to confront China on the creation of a full-fledged Chinese Military Complex in Doklam right up to 10m from the Indian Army post. PM Modi will be visiting China on April 27-28. Will he raise the issue or was his 56-inch chest mere bravado?" he asked.

Drawing a comparison between Modi government at the Centre and Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka, Surjewala said while Karnataka had created 15 lakh jobs, Modi had failed to deliver on his promise of two crore jobs. Surjewala demanded Modi's attention to the USA clamping down on H-4, H1-B and L1 visas.

Terming Karnataka the number one state in software and services exports, Surjewala said the future of professionals is becoming uncertain. "It is estimated that 7,50,000 Indians living in the USA on H1B visas will be deported according to the new rules. These are the youths from Bengaluru and from Karnataka. Modi government has failed to protect their jobs."