NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday demanded a white paper on the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at the border with China and a comprehensive discussion on the India-China border dispute in Parliament.
Senior spokesperson of the Congress Manish Tewari said at a press conference here that three years ago, on June 19, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told an all-party meeting after the Galwan clashes ??that “neither anyone has entered our border, nor any post is in the possession of others”.
Tewari said Modi’s remarks were contrary to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs a day before, where it was clearly stated that the Galwan incident took place because Chinese soldiers tried to intrude and set up tents on the Indian side of the border.
“As a responsible opposition, we demand a comprehensive discussion on the India-China border dispute. We also demand that a white paper be issued on what is the truth of the developments that have taken place on the LAC in the last three years,” the Congress leader said.
“After the prime minister’s clean chit to China on June 19, 2020, is it that 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory is in Chinese occupation and we are not able to get it back? The clean chit actually undermined and subverted India’s national interest. We expect that the government will give a responsible statement on China,” he added.
Tewari asked if it is true that the Indian Army has lost control over 26 of the 65 patrolling points on the LAC.
“Is it true that buffer zones have been created within our borders? What did the government of India do to stop the transgressions on the LAC by China? Why was China not discussed even once in Parliament or the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Ministry of Defence?” he asked, questioning why does the Parliament secretariat not admit questions related to the LAC.
On September 5, 2020, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a two-and-a-half-hour-long discussion with his Chinese counterpart during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Moscow, Tewari said, adding that during the Russia-India-China trilateral in Moscow on September 11, 2020, the external affairs minister also held discussions with the Chinese foreign minister on the situation at the LAC.
“There have been 18 border-level talks in the last three years. When there was no intrusion, then what is the truth of the continuous discussions for three years?” he asked.
Asked whether the Congress would raise the issue of China during the Monsoon session of Parliament even when the government is denying a discussion, Tewari said since September 2020, the opposition, individually and collectively, has been demanding a discussion on China and floor leaders have raised the issue before the business advisory committee in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, “but we have been stonewalled by the government”.
“Therefore, under these circumstances, since a period of 36 months has lapsed and the opposition has given a fair amount of latitude to the government, the time has come that we will forcefully demand a threadbare discussion on the situation at the LAC in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament. And insofar as how do we intend to press that demand, we will have to wait till the Parliament session starts,” he said.
Tewari also said the Congress does not want to make the issue of national security a “political football”, “but what is important is that the county needs to know about the actual situation at the LAC”.
“We expect that the government will clearly take the country into confidence and highlight the truth. There should be no compromise with India’s territorial integrity. That message will have to go out clearly,” he said.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote on Twitter: “If the Chinese didn’t enter our territory or capture any posts, as the PM declared 3 years ago, what is the truth behind the many meetings held by Indian and Chinese counterparts at various levels.”
Ramesh also said Modi gave a “clean chit” to the neighbouring country three years ago, adding that the prime minister’s continued silence on Chinese transgressions along the border has weakened India’s negotiating position.
Ramesh shared on Twitter a speech of the prime minister delivered three years ago, in which he had said nobody had entered Indian territory and no one was in occupation of it.
“Today three years ago the Prime Minister gave this clean chit to China. Just listen to him. It has hurt and will continue to hurt India very badly. His continued silence thereafter both in Parliament and outside has contributed to a weakening of India’s negotiating position,” the former Union minister tweeted.
Tewari said the maximum number of questions directed to the external affairs minister at a recent press conference were on China.
“The question is very clear. The question is, whether those areas, where disengagement has taken place, the buffer zones which have been conceded, are they in our perception of the Line of Actual Control? The question is, what did the SSP of Leh and Ladakh articulate in writing? Have we lost access in 26 of the 65 patrolling points? The question is, in the military-to-military talks that are taking place, is the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) or the Chinese demanding a 15-to-20-kilometre buffer zone in our perception of the Line of Actual Control in Depsang?” he said.
“Therefore, to try and say that this is not about land grab, but about forward deployment — I think these are very germane questions with regard to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India, which unfortunately this government has been trying to dodge for the last 36 months,” the Congress leader said.
