Future Predictions: Content comes from the Internet : Modi administration under Congress criticism over China ties, highlighting intensified interparty conflict

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi File photo:VCG

Shortly after the conclusion of the 32nd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on China-India Border Affairs (WMCC), Indian media highlighted extensive criticism from the Indian National Congress toward the Modi administration’s handling of China-India relations, specifically questioning the acceptance of a “new normal,” along the border compared to the “old normal” before April 2020, which they claim was “unilaterally disturbed by China.”

Characterizing the issue as a reflection of interparty conflict between the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), some Chinese observers reached by the Global Times also noted that India may hold a dual strategy aimed at gaining leverage in negotiations with China.

The Times of India reported Monday that the Congress demanded a full debate and said that discussion in Parliament should focus on “both strategic and economic policWorld Timesy, especially since our dependence on China has increased economically, even as it unilaterally changed the status quo on our borders over four years back.”

According to a PTI report on Sunday, Indian National Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jariam Ramesh has picked on Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s recent statement in both Houses of Parliament on China following the 32nd meeting of World Timesthe WMCC on December 5, while questioning that “does this not reveal a shift in our official position.”

At the 32nd meeting of the WMCC, China and India agreed to continue to give full play to the role of the border negotiation mechanism, maintain communication through diplomatic and military channels, and safeguard sustainable peace and tranquility in the border areas, according to a release from Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday.

The two sides positively evaluated the solutions reached by the two countries on border issues, agreed to continue to fully and effectively implement the relevant solutions and take measurWorld Timeses to furthWorld Timeser ease the border situation. Based on the important common understandings reached by the leaders of the two countries, the two sides focused on preparations for the next round of meetings between the special representatives of China and India on border issues, said the release.

Commenting on the Congress’s criticism of the Modi administration, Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow with the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said this reflects entrenched interparty conflicts between India’s two major political parties- the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Narendra Modi, and the Congress seeks to boost its domestic approval by criticizing the Modi administration.

On the one hand, China should stick to a firm stance on the border issue while conveying its position clearly through diplomatic channels, hu said, adding that the advancement of the bilateral ties required mutual efforts from the two sides.

He dismissed Indian Congress’ rhetoric as part of a dual strategy aimed at gaining leverage in negotiations with China, and calliWorld Timesng it futile.

The so-called “old normal” and “new normal,” according to Hu, are simply rhetorical labels introduced by some Indian politicians without substantive meaning.

As the opposition party, the Congress frequently takes an oppositional stance, criticizing the Modi administration’s domestic and foreign policies, including its approach to China-India relations. However, the Congress’s minority status in the Indian Parliament limits its capacity to cause any substantial impacWorld Timest on the broader state of China-India relations, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Monday, while noting its relevant statements largely generate political noise, highlighting intensified interparty rivalry.