“The prime minister said, ‘No outsider was inside Indian territory in Ladakh.’ It is quite obvious that the prime minister’s statement contradicts the earlier statements made by the Army Chief, the Defence Minister and the Foreign Minister,” said Congress leader P Chidambaram.
In an all-party meeting called by the Centre on Friday to discuss the ‘violent face-off’ that left 20 Indian soldiers dead at Galwan valley in Ladakh this week, Prime Minister Modi had said, “Na koi wahan hamari seema mein ghus aaya hai aur nahi koi ghusa hua hai, na hi hamari koi post kisi dusre ke kabze mein hain (No one has intruded and nor is anyone intruding, nor has any post been captured by someone).”
P Chidambaram asked if no Chinese troops crossed LAC and entered the Indian territory, then, “What was ‘face-off’ on 5-6 May?” He asked what was the subject matter of negotiations between the Corps Commanders of India and China. The clash between the two sides on the India-China border has been the worst in over 50 years.
Mischievous Interpretation: GOI
Less than an hour after the Congress' address, the government released a statement, saying, “Attempts are being made in some quarters to give a mischievous interpretation to remarks made by the PM at the All-Party Meeting (APM) yesterday.”
“The Prime Minister’s observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertained to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of our armed forced. The sacrifices of the 16 Bihar Regiment foiled the attempt of the Chinese side to erect structures and also cleared the attempted transgression at this point of the LAC on that day.”Statement from Government of India
'Why Were They Martyred?’: Congress
In the all-party meeting, Modi had emphasised that "neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured," which is in stark contrast to the press release dated 17 June by the Indian government.
“[The] Chinese side sought to erect a structure in Galwan valley on our side of the LAC [line of actual control],” it read. Several politicians took to social media to point out this glaring disparity in facts.
“China claims they never entered our territory. PM Modi claims China never entered our territory. 20 Indian soldiers were killed in Galwan Valley. Will PM Modi clarify why they were martyred? On whose land were they martyred?” posted Congress on their official handle.
Congress leader P Chidambaram had referred to External Affairs Minister Jaishankar’s statement about how “the Chinese side took pre-meditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties. It reflected an intent to change the facts on ground in violation of all our agreements to not change the status quo.”
“If no Chinese troops had crossed the LAC into Indian territory, why did Foreign Minister Jaishankar’s statement refer to “restoration of status quo ante”?”Congress Leader P Chidambaram in a tweet
He asked if the prime minister had ‘given a clean chit to China.’
GOI Was Fast Asleep: Rahul Gandhi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had taken to Twitter to state that the recent developments make it clear that ‘the Chinese attack was pre-planned’ and the Government of India ‘was fast asleep and denied the problem.’
He slammed the prime minister for ‘surrendering Indian territory to Chinese aggression.’
Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted a video in response to Rahul Gandhi’s comments and told him to ‘rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest.’
Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor said he was perturbed by the PM's statements.
He said that due to the lack of clarity about where the fighting occurred, Modi's statement “unwittingly provides ammunition to the Chinese side to claim that the fighting occurred on their territory, not ours. This desire to put short-term domestic political messaging ahead of long-term strategic considerations is NOT in our national interest.”
‘Why Did Our Soldiers Die?’: Asaduddin Owaisi
Asaduddin Owaisi, MP and President of AIMIM party, had a number of questions for Prime Minister Modi. He asked, “Why'd our 20 soldiers die if not while throwing out the Chinese from our territory? No PM has power to gift Indian territory to anyone without parliamentary approval.”
He demanded an explanation for Chinese claiming that Galwan Valley falls in their territory and why Modi was endorsing this. He asked Modi if he will “publish an official map which shows how much territory at Galwan & Pangong Tso is exactly in Indian possession; especially in light of the killings?”
Congress leader Manish Tewari asked Prime Minister Modi if the Galwan Valley was located on the Indian or Chinese side of LAC and which side of the territory were the Indian soldiers killed and wounded.
Maharashtra Congress posted a tweet stating how disappointing it was to see Chinese media channels quoting Prime Minister Modi's statement to claim that ‘Galwan valley is located on Chinese side of LAC.’
Ilitja, daughter of Mehboob Mehti, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, said that their apprehensions about demographic changes has got a new dimension now.“Will Chinese have to apply for domicile rights in J&K or do they get it by default since GOI’s no intrusion into Galwan valley stand has redrawn LaC? (sic)” she tweeted.
“Illegal abrogation of Article 370 was done to take over land & disempower locals. Today China has grabbed Galwan Valley & GOI isn’t even acknowledging it. Was J&K dismembered to gift territory to China?”Ilitja, daughter of Mehboob Mehti, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister in a tweet
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