Narendra Modi in Beijing, tells China 'Pakistan is making use of you'
BEIJING: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday belied speculation that he would give up the BJP's nationalistic stance for the sake of Chinese investments. He raised a few controversial issues including the one about the presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir during his talks with Communist Party leaders in Beijing.
"I told them - whatever your intentions, Pakistan is making use of you," Modi said after his meeting with three Chinese leaders including Wang Gang, a politburo member of the Communist Party of China and vice-chairman of the China People's Consultative Conference. There is a lot of concern over Chinese troop presence in *** in India, and particularly in Gujarat as it was a border state, he told them.
Modi also questioned the wisdom of a Chinese transformer maker, TBEA, displaying a wrong map of India at a function in New Delhi, which resulted in a sharp exchange of words between a journalist and Chinese ambassador in India, Zhang Yan. Gujarat government is worried about the controversy because it has signed a Rs 2500-crore contract with the Chinese company.
Chinese leaders carefully listened to his concerns about the long detention of 22 Gujaratis, mostly diamond merchants, who have been languishing in jails in China without trail for close to two years, Modi said. "I was not expecting a promise. You cannot get results in one meeting. But I am sure they have understood our feelings on the subject," he said.
The Gujarat chief minister said Chinese leaders were eager to hear about Gujarat's development, and heard him with a lot of attention. This is significant because he did not represent the ruling party in New Delhi, Modi said.
Modi said he expects China to become the third country after Japan and Canada to establish a special relationship with Gujarat, which is besides their interactions with the rest of India. He is also working on collaboration with China for establishing a sports university in Gujarat, he said.