New Delhi: Congress leader and former Minister of State for Defence Pallam Raju on Thurday expressed his concerns and doubts over China's assurance to India, given during a meeting at Moscow, opining that as per the records, Beijing has never "respected" agreements to de-escalate the border standoff at Line of Actual Control (LAC).
As the border tensions between India and China escalated, a joint statement was released after the meeting of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. The statement said that the two nations had agreed on a five-point plan to de-escalate the four-month-long standoff at LAC.
Speaking exclusively to ETV Bharat, Pallam Raju said, "Actions speak louder than words. We've seen in the last four months, the number of meetings we had between the Commanders of both sides, agreements for fall back were agreed upon. But, the Chinese did not keep their word."
"History speaks that all the agreements that have happened between India and China on the LAC have not been respected. So, I have doubts about the new agreements being followed by the Chinese," he further added.
In the meeting, both Foreign Ministers agreed that the current situation in border areas is not in the interest of either side. Hence, the five-point plan also includes "not to allow differences to become disputes" and to abide by existing India-China border protocols by quick disengagement to ease tensions.
Read: India and China agree to resolve border row
"This prolonged face-off is not good for either countries and it has been very unfortunate that the Chinese have taken such a hard stand in restoring April's situation at LAC. I hope that the meetings in Russia of both the Defence Ministers and the Foreign Ministers would have some positive outcome in de-escalating the border tensions," said the former Union Minister.
The Congress party has been continuously demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi explain to the country the current situation at the LAC. While India has maintained that the large mobilization of troops by PLA has led to a very serious and dangerous situation at LAC, the Opposition party is also planning to raise this issue in the upcoming Parliament session.
"It's a very serious national issue and it was very unfortunate that the Prime Minister during the All-Party meeting, denied any encroachment on Indian territory by the Chinese. At least now they've woken up to the reality on ground. Things only got worsened by the Prime Minister's statement. I hope that in the new situation we'll take all measures to safeguard our sovereignty," Raju said.
Read: India to China: Massive PLA deployment along LAC 'flash points'
When asked about the way forward in this crisis, he suggested, "It will be very unfortunate if both the countries go into a confrontation which escalates. So, it is important that they hold talks to take all measures to de-escalate the situation onthe border and to work on all fronts towards restoring the status quo ante as of April 2020."
Earlier today, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also made a sharp attack on the Centre in his tweet: "The Chinese have taken our land. When exactly is GOI planning to get it back? Or is that going to be left to an 'Act of God'?"
(Reported by Niyamika Singh, Etv Bharat Reporter)
