New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement in Parliament on the Sino-India border clash in Tawang was “incomplete” and accused the government of hiding the truth from the nation.Congress spokesperson and deputy leader of the party in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said the government should tell the truth and not divert public attention by raising other issues.
Gogoi and party leader Pawan Khera also accused the government of diplomatic failure with China, claiming that India has lost its pre-eminent position in Southeast Asia.Both the leaders demanded that the government should agree to a detailed discussion on the border situation and ties with China, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks in June 2020 that “no one has entered Indian territory nor has anyone occupied its territory” has emboldened China to indulge in such misadventures.“Why did Rajnath Singh give a statement so late. The incident is of December 9. Why was this not given yesterday in Parliament? Why are they hiding this? This government wants to hide the truth from the nation and our demand from day one has been to tell the truth to the nation,” Gogoi said.
He said the Congress was concerned about the security of the nation and that is why it was asking questions.“Rajnath Singh may be wanting to provide more information but his voice has also been silenced by the Prime Minister [Narendra Modi]. That is why the minister’s statement is incomplete. Our questions were valid,” he said. He alleged whenever an issue of national security comes up, the “ the PM hides behind his ministers”. Asking why Parliament was deliberately kept in the dark, Gogoi said was why the Congress staged a walkout after Singh’s statement in the Lok Sabha and later in the Rajya Sabha. Border situation ‘generally stable’, says China
PLA claims Indian soldiers blocked a regular Chinese patrol
China on Tuesday said the situation along the border with India was “generally stable”, days after the troops of the two countries clashed in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, resulting in minor injuries to some soldiers on both sides.Hours after the comments by the Chinese foreign ministry, Senior Colonel Long Shaohua, spokesman of the Western Theatre Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), issued a statement, claiming that the clash on December 9 took place when its troops on regular patrol on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) were blocked by Indian soldiers.Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin (pic) said in Beijing the two sides have maintained smooth communication on boundary-related issues through diplomatic and military channels.Wang, however, declined to provide details of the clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers at the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector.“
As far as we know, the China-India border areas are generally stable. The two sides have maintained smooth communication on boundary-related issues through diplomatic and military channels,” Wang said. “We hope that the Indian side will work with us in the same direction, earnestly deliver on the important common understandings reached by leaders of both sides, and act strictly in the spirit of relevant bilateral agreements signed by both sides and jointly preserve peace and tranquility in the border areas,” he said.
In his statement, Senior Colonel Long said that on December 9, the border defence forces organised regular patrol on the Chinese side of the LAC in the “Dongzhang” area in the eastern sector of the China-India border, which was “blocked by the Indian Army illegally crossing the line”. “Our troops’ response is professional, firm and standard, which has helped to stabilise the situation. Both sides have been under disengagement since then,” Long said.“We ask the Indian side to strictly control and restrain the front-line forces and work with the Chinese side to maintain peace and tranquility along,” he said.
