Amid row over Rahul meeting Chinese ministers, Beijing says welcomes all Indian pilgrims

New Delhi, Jan 26: Amid a row over Rahul Gandhi's Kailash Mansarovar visit last year, the Congress chief on Friday said he had also met Chinese ministers during his trip, the Beijing's envoy here said all Indian pilgrims were welcome to the country.

"The Chinese government, the Chinese side will welcome all pilgrims from India," Chinese envoy Luo Zhaohui said in response to a question on Gandhi's meeting with his country's ministers.

Earlier in the day, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused Gandhi of acting as a "Chinese propagandist" and asked him to give complete details of his meeting with China's ministers and officials during his Kailash Mansarovar visit and questioned why had he not kept the Indian government informed about it.

"The Kailash Mansarovar yatra was an excuse. He had gone to meet these ministers. Rahul Gandhi is not an ordinary citizen. Why did he not inform the Ministry of External Affairs? Why was the Indian embassy not kept in loop? We want to know the details of his talks," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters.

The ruling party's attack on Gandhi came after the Congress president told a public meeting in Odisha that the Chinese ministers had told him during his Kailash Mansarovar visit in August-September last year that job creation was not a problem in their country.

"When I had gone to Kailash, I had met a couple of their ministers and they had said job creation was not a problem in China at all," Gandhi had said.