New Delhi: The Congress on Friday hits out at Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar wondering whether he would question his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang over the loss of 26 out of 65 patrol points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. “The Chinese Foreign Minister is on Indian soil.
"In the past, we lost 20 soldiers during the Galwan Valley clashes (in 2020). We lost 26 out of a total of 65 patrolling points along the LAC. The government used to say it would show "red eyes" to China over border incursions, but we saw how a red carpet was rolled out to welcome him. The External Affairs Minister is discussing the LAC with him. We would like to know if he is raising the point strongly enough to get the patrol points back,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said.
“We have lost patrolling rights on PP 10, 11, 11 A in the Depsang Plains and other patrol points in the Ghogra Hot Springs area since 2020,” he said. The Congress leader cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s earlier remark in 2020 that “no one had entered the Indian border” and asked, “if there was no incursion then what have the two sides been discussing during the various rounds of negotiations that have taken place between the Army commanders of the two countries since then.” “It seems that PM Modi has a one-sided love affair with China,” Khera said.
The Congress leader said that PM Modi used to visit China frequently when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat earlier and had even promised a Smart City in his state to be built by China. “The smart city never came up in Gujarat, but China built a Smart City on our land in Arunachal Pradesh,” he said. “We know that he would get a visa for China, but not for the US or the UK. We know his relationship with China. If you are afraid of asking tough questions to China then we will do that in 2024,” Khera added.
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The Congress leader noted that the government was willing to discuss the border issue with the Chinese Foreign Minister, but the Centre was not discussing it in Parliament. “The LAC issue should be discussed in Parliament. The government can tell the Chinese it faces domestic pressure over the issue. The entire nation would back the government if it takes a bold stand, but first, it has to stand firm,” Khera said.
The Congress leader slammed the External Affairs Minister over his recent statement that India could not pick up a fight with China as it was a bigger economy compared to New Delhi. “One thing the diplomats are well trained to do is that they know what should be said and when. But the External Affairs Minister’s remarks betrayed the diplomat community,” Khera said. The Congress leader further charged that while the PM was celebrating the BJP’s electoral success in the north-eastern states recently, he was ignoring the Chinese threat that the Siliguri Corridor, the stretch that connected the region to the mainland, faced.
