As China shot down an Indian bid to declare Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, the hashtag #BoycottChineseProducts was trending in India on Thursday.
Indian nationals bashed China and called for a ban on its products amid much outrage.
The proposal to designate Azhar under the 1267 Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was moved by France, UK and the US on February 27, after the attack in Pulwama on Feb 14 that had killed 40 Indian troops.
Indians took to Twitter to express rage over China – who has blocked such a move for the fourth consecutive time.
Indian National Congress (INC) President Rahul Gandhi lambasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being “scared of Chinese President Xi”.
Weak Modi is scared of Xi. Not a word comes out of his mouth when China acts against India.
NoMo’s China Diplomacy:
1. Swing with Xi in Gujarat
2. Hug Xi in Delhi
3. Bow to Xi in China https://t.co/7QBjY4e0z3
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 14, 2019
Suhasini Haider, Diplomatic Affairs Editor at The Hindu, fears that “China’s blocking the proposal will have consequences for India-China ties on an issue that means a lot here [in India]”.
Listing Masood Azhar as a terrorist under the UNSC 1267 sanctions list may or may not have changed life for the JeM founder in Pakistan, but China’s blocking the proposal will have consequences for India-China ties on an issue that means a lot here. Wuhan spirit #fails
— Suhasini Haidar (@suhasinih) March 13, 2019
Renowned Indian author Shashi Tharoor accused China of being an “enabler of terrorism”.
Eight days ago I asked the question: on March 13, will China prove to be the world’s biggest enabler of terrorism? Its decision to block the @UN blacklisting of MasoodAzhar yesterday confirms the answer: https://t.co/zr5NounqOI https://t.co/fGzB3QP4pR
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 14, 2019
Journalist Rajdeep Sardesai ripped the Indian hypocrisy and observed that ” [even Indian] shows are sponsored by Chinese cos as is the IPL?”
So Beijing once again blocks terrorist tag on Masood Azhar and some ‘noise’ channels want India to ban all Chinese products! Did anyone tell them that their shows are sponsored by Chinese cos as is the IPL? Better to call for end to ‘jhoola’ diplomacy,no? Sense above sensation!
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) March 14, 2019
India Today Director Rahul Kanwal, who was earlier mercilessly schooled by Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed, threatened Masood Azhar in a filmy way. “Tera time aaye ga Masood Azhar,” he wrote.
Tera time aayega Masood Azhar…Zaroor aayega…& Inshallah the Indian Army will get the job done. So what if the Chinese want to protect you…tera time aayega.
— Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) March 14, 2019
Former Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Minister Omar Abdullah noted that “Pakistan [got] its way once again”.
China places a “technical hold” on Masood Azhar in the UN again! Pakistan gets its way once again.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 13, 2019
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy recalled the history lesson and regretted the Indian decision to “gift” its UNSC seat to China.
The.cost of freeing Azharin 1999 is now haunting us. The cost of gifting UNSC seat to China in 1950 is haunting us today. The cost of filing an illegal petition in UN on J&K is bleeding us everyday. Learn to introspect before blaming others. There are no free lunches
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) March 14, 2019