BJP national spokesperson and MP Sambit Patra addresses a press conference over the manufacturing sector and export business of India, in New Delhi on August 25, 2026.

| Photo Credit: ANI

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday (August 25, 2026) described the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi as a “robot of China”, and attacked him and the Congress party for their positions on the Doklam standoff, surgical strikes, airstrikes, and Operation Sindoor.At a press conference in New Delhi, BJP MP Sambit Patra responded to a query about Congress MP Manish Tewari’s post on social media platform X regarding Chinese humanoid robots. “We have to fight the Congress mindset at the LOC (Line of Control) and at the International Borders, also because they are the ones who, in fact, are the props of our enemies. They are the ones who spread misinformation,” Mr. Patra said.“If India is not careful, it could be very soon fighting a robot PLA (People’s Liberation Army of China) on the LAC (Line of Actual Control)...,” Mr. Tewari had said in the post. The remarks were not only about a robotic army, but rather underscored that if India was left behind in the technological race, it would have geo-strategic implications, he later explained.“They (the Congress) are the ones who were found inside the Chinese tent when the Doklam standoff was taking place,” Mr. Patra said, referring to the 2017 face-off between Indian and Chinese troops. He also accused Mr. Gandhi of having made “discouraging” comments during the confrontation.“They were the ones who are props because when the surgical strikes and the airstrikes took place, they, in fact, stood with the opposite side. They commented upon India and they wanted evidence,” the BJP leader alleged.“During Operation Sindoor, unfortunately, we became the only country to have a discussion on the floor of the Parliament [about] whether the Indian Army did well or not, despite having all the evidence of destroying innumerable bases in Pakistan,” he said. “Such is our Opposition, such is Rahul Gandhi...the robot of China called Rahul Gandhi. We need to fight his mindset democratically,” Mr. Patra said. Published - August 25, 2026 08:56 pm IST