The Global Times, which recently lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the Shangri La Dialogue on June 1, on Friday warned against the BJP government playing the ‘China threat’ card ahead of the 2019 elections.
“India’s 2019 general election is less than a year away and it seems that the BJP has started to gear up for the next round of campaigns through playing the China card”, an article in the Chinese government mouthpiece said, citing an Indian report that “the 2018 material for India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tells its cadres that China is a threat to India.”
“In 2015, the “China threat” theory also reportedly appeared on BJP’s training material. Perhaps the party failed to update the content, aimed at raising the defence budget, or purely wanted to prepare for the coming elections. Whatever the reason, the hype is inappropriate against the backdrop of thawing ties between Beijing and New Delhi. The BJP should be careful not to lose sight of the forest for the trees,” it warned.
If India regards economic development as its fundamental goal, “improvement of Sino-Indian relations will bring it more benefits,” it said.
Hitting hard
It seems that the BJP has started to gear up for the next round of campaigns through playing the China card.
In 2015, the “China threat” theory also reportedly appeared on BJP’s training material.
The BJP should be careful not to lose sight of the forest for the trees.