The Congress on Tuesday asked external affairs minister S. Jaishankar whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s blunt denial of any intrusion by China was to “respect and honour” the sacrifice of 20 Indian soldiers who lost their lives fighting Chinese troops at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh in 2020.
The Congress attack came a day after Jaishankar in the Lok Sabha objected to Rahul Gandhi’s use of the term “pitai (beating)” while referring to the recent India-China clash in Tawang and asserted that the government could be criticised but jawans must not be insulted by using such expressions.
Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said: “We agree with the external affairs minister who said that our jawans should be ‘respected, honoured and appreciated’ as they stand strong against our adversaries. Was it this respect that led Prime Minister Modi to say ‘na wahan koi ghusa hai, na koi ghus aaya hai, na hi ghusa hua hai’ after 20 of our soldiers gave up their lives defending our borders on June 19, 2020?”
Ramesh added: “The external affairs minister claims that relations with China are ‘not normal’. Then why have we never called the Chinese ambassador and issued a démarche as we do with the Pakistan high commissioner? Why is our trade dependence on China at a record high with imports at $95 billion in 2021-22 and the trade deficit at $74 billion? Why did our troops conduct military exercises with Chinese troops at Russia’s Vostok-22 in September 2022?”
Recalling that Jaishankar had said the government would not let China change the status of the LAC unilaterally, Ramesh said: “Has the status quo not been altered by Chinese troops 18km deep in the Depsang for the last two years? Is it not altered by the fact that our troops are unable to access 1,000sqkm of territory in eastern Ladakh that they earlier patrolled? Is it not altered by the fact that we have agreed to buffer zones that prevent our patrols from going to areas they previously could go to? When will the external affairs minister unequivocally declare that restoration of the pre-2020 status quo is our objective?”
Ramesh added: “The external affairs minister said ‘we are pressuring China’. Why then do we have a purely reactive stance? Why did we withdraw from our advantageous position in the Kailash range without ensuring a full restoration of the pre-2020 status quo?
“Why have we not been more aggressive and made counter-intrusions to compel the Chinese to withdraw as we did in 1986 and 2013? When will we stop legitimising Chinese aggression by referring to ‘differences in perception’ rather than asserting our claim?”
The Congress is explaining that Rahul’s argument was not about the valour and courage of the soldiers but the failures of the government.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which will enter Haryana on Wednesday, will celebrate Jai Jawan Diwas with ex-servicemen. On December 23, the Bharat Jodo Yatra will celebrate Jai Kisan Diwas with farmers.
