India has not ceded any territory to China as part of the ongoing disengagement process at the Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh, the defence ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The reiteration came after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ceding territory to China.

“The effective safeguarding of our national interest and territory in the eastern Ladakh sector has taken place because the government has reposed full faith in the capabilities of the armed forces,” the ministry said.

“Those who doubt the achievements made possible by the sacrifices of our military personnel are actually disrespecting them.”

Defence minister Rajnath Singh had on Thursday told Parliament that India and China had begun disengaging troops from the Pangong Lake’s north bank under an agreement that stipulated that neither would patrol its traditional areas till the modalities had been worked out at the operational and diplomatic levels.

On Friday, the defence ministry said it had taken note of “some misinformed and misleading comments being amplified in the media and on social media regarding the disengagement currently under way at Pangong Tso”.

“The assertion that Indian territory is up to Finger 4 is categorically false. The territory of India is as depicted by the map of India and includes more than 43,000sqkm currently under illegal occupation of China since 1962,” the statement said.

“Even the Line of Actual Control (LAC), as per the Indian perception, is at Finger 8, not at Finger 4. That is why India has persistently maintained the right to patrol up to Finger 8, including in the current understanding with China.”

Under the disengagement agreement, the Chinese troops will return east of Finger 8 on the lake’s north bank. Reciprocally, Indian troops will pull back to their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3.

“Permanent posts of both sides at the north bank of Pangong Tso are longstanding and well-established. On the Indian side, it is Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 and on the Chinese side, east of Finger 8. The current agreement provides for cessation of forward deployment by both sides and continued deployment at these permanent posts,” the statement said.

“India has not conceded any territory as a result of this agreement. On the contrary, it has enforced observance and respect for LAC and prevented any unilateral change in the status quo.”

On the other friction points, the ministry said, Rajnath’s statement had made it clear that there were outstanding problems to be addressed, including those relating to Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang.

“The outstanding issues are to be taken up within 48 hrs of the completion of the Pangong Tso disengagement,” the statement said.

However, the statement was silent on the Congress allegation that the government had agreed to withdraw troops also from their vantage position on the Kailash Range overlooking the Pangong Lake’s south bank.