For about an year now, India has been locked in a border dispute with China, with several forward positions in Ladakh becoming a bone of contention. While the two nations are now making a concerted effort to broker peace, things are far from resolved. And as the controversy continues, Opposition leaders and critics have repeatedly hit out at the Narendra Modi-led government.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday took to Twitter contending that India "deserved better" and hitting out at the government. "Chinese occupation of Gogra-Hot Springs and Depsang plains is a direct threat to India’s strategic interests including the DBO airstrip. National security massively jeopardised by GOI’s wasteful talks," he said.
Gandhi's remarks come less than a day after reports indicated that the Chinese had "refused" to vacate certain areas and that their army was even picking up recruits from Tibet. Reportedly China has refused to pull back its troops from Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang Plains during the last round of Corps Commander-level talks held on April 9.
Gandhi is not alone in his criticism. Fellow members of the Congress as well as other Opposition leaders have hit out at the government. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy also took a swipe at his own party over the same. "Chinese are soon going, laughing all the way, to Demchok while we will say : koi ayaaga nahin. Our MEA is looking more and more like Keystone Cops of Hollywood," he jibed.
In another recent development, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in the US put out a report stating that China-India border tensions "remain high" despite some force pullbacks this year.
"China-India border tensions remain high, despite some force pullbacks this year. China's occupation since May 2020 of contested border areas is the most serious escalation in decades and led to the first lethal border clash between the two countries since 1975," its latest annual threat assessment report to the US Congress said.
