The Congress on Monday tied itself up in knots over a meeting between party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui, amid the border standoff between New Delhi and Beijing. At first, the party denied the meeting took place, but confirmed it hours later. It, however, did not specify at whose instance the meeting was held on July 8, saying those specifics were not relevant.
“It is my job to be informed on critical issues. I met the Chinese Ambassador, Ex-NSA, Congress leaders from NE and the Bhutanese Ambassador,” Rahul tweeted in the evening. Senior Congress leader Manish Tewari identified the ex-NSA as Shivshankar Menon.
But earlier in the day, the Congress had a different take. “A wanting to be Bhakt channel will not question 3 Union Ministers visiting China or PM’s bonhomie & praise at G20 yet run fake news,” Congress’s communication department head Randeep Surjewala tweeted in the morning.