India faces threat from China, Pak: Jaswant

KOLKATA: Criticising the Congress for its alleged failure on internal as well as external fronts, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former foreign minister Jaswant Singh on Sunday said India was facing a threat from China and Pakistan.

"Never in the last 40 years I have witnessed India so troubled and turbulent, both internally and externally," Singh said on the sidelines of a seminar on 'Challenges to National Identity and Security in 21st Century' here.

"Internally, the Maoists are splitting the country, and externally there is the threat from neighbouring countries like China and Pakistan," he said.

Singh said a country's geography determines its foreign policies. "But thanks to the Congress leaders, it's the reverse in our case."

"Mahatma Gandhi is responsible for India's troubled relations with Pakistan, while Jawaharlal Nehru is behind the Tibet and China issues. And the complexities we are facing from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are because of Indira Gandhi's strategic errors," he added.

Singh said China had become the new emerging threat to India.

"China is aware that India has a soft government and hence it is pressurising us psychologically rather than giving a straight fight."

"India needs to be internally strong first to be able to arrange for solution and security. But, sadly, this sounds too nice to be true," he added.