Nishikant Dubey raises questions regarding Rahul Gandhi's 2018 Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has raised serious questions regarding Rahul Gandhi's 2018 Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. According to a Dainik Bhaskar report, Dubey has questioned that when an Indian MP is not permitted to visit Kailash Mansarovar, how did this Congress leader get permission for this yatra? Dubey has asked Rahul Gandhi for details on which two Chinese ministers he had met. In addition, he has also sought information about the 200 people sent to China under the 2008 agreement.

Nishikant Dubey has raised these questions with reference to a 2019 statement by Rahul Gandhi. According to an Amar Ujala report, Rahul Gandhi had stated at a town hall meeting held in Bhubaneswar in 2019 that he had met two Chinese ministers regarding 'job creation'. Considering this statement important, Dubey has asked questions. Regarding this matter, according to a Ministry of External Affairs report of June 2018, no official request had been received from Rahul Gandhi for a visit to the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Ministry of External Affairs had clarified that this request had neither come through the route of a government-organized yatra nor through the route of any private yatra.

Mention has also been made in this controversy of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on August 7, 2008. According to a Dainik Bhaskar report, this understanding was made between the Congress and the Communist Party of China (CPC) for inter-party exchanges. This agreement was signed by Rahul Gandhi on behalf of Congress and Wang Jiarui on behalf of China. The BJP alleges that Congress people were sent to China under this understanding. On the other hand, the Congress says that this was a normal inter-party exchange and there is no secret matter in it.

Emphasizing the importance of Indian and Chinese relations, Nishikant Dubey stated that the relations between India and China involve sensitive aspects connected with strategic, diplomatic, and national security. He argued that public scrutiny of any conversation taking place between major Indian political leaders and representatives of the Chinese government is necessary. Dubey further added that the country should get clear answers to all these questions. He said that transparency in talks with foreign governments is not merely a political issue, but it is a subject of accountability and national interest.

Looking at the details of this yatra of Rahul Gandhi, he had begun the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra on August 31, 2018. He had gone on a 12-day yatra via the Nepal route. At that time, Rahul Gandhi was the President of Congress. According to a Dainik Bhaskar report, during the yatra, he also got photographs taken with other pilgrims at Dolmala. According to reports, Rahul Gandhi completed the circumambulation of Kailash by walking on foot for 2 days. After completing the yatra, Rahul Gandhi had said, "A man goes to Kailash only when Kailash calls him."

Nishikant Dubey has shared screenshots related to all these questions on the social media platform X, through which he has made the questions regarding Rahul Gandhi's past visits and yatra clearer. This entire controversy has now heated up on the issue of national security and political transparency.

Nishikant Dubey was the MP from Godda.