Take nation into confidence on situation at LAC: Mallikarjun Kharge to Centre

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday reiterated his party's demand that the government must take the nation into confidence on the situation at the border with China.

Kharge shared a media report on X which cited satellite images to claim that China's military is digging in for a long haul in the area around Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh, having constructed underground bunkers to store weapons and fuel and hardened shelters for armoured vehicles at a key base in the region.

"How can China build a military base near Pangong Tso on land which was under Indian occupation until May 2020," Kharge said.

Hitting back at the Congress president, the BJP said Sirijap, the area in question, was attacked and captured by the Chinese troops on 21st October 1962, when Jawaharlal Nehru was the prime minister.

"Kharge ji, You either don't know anything about military history and China's illegal occupation of our land in 1962 or are willfully spreading #FakeNews," BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said in a post on X.

"For your information, Sirijap, the area in question here, was attacked and captured by the Chinese troops on 21st October 1962, when Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister. So, we are paying for the sins of Balak Buddhi's great grandfather and it has nothing to do with 2020," he said.

"Several Military journals have recorded this fact, including Chinese Aggression in Maps, brought out by Publication Division in 1963. You may want to get a copy and educate yourself," Malviya said.

In his post, Kharge said, "Even as we enter the fifth year of the 'CLEAN CHIT" given by PM Narendra Modi on Galwan, where our brave soldiers sacrificed their lives, China continues to impinge upon our territorial integrity!"

"Just to recall - 10th April 2024 - PM Modi in an interview to foreign press failed to put forth India's case strongly at the global stage.

"13th April 2024 - EAM's statement that 'China has not occupied any of our land' exposed Modi government's meek policy towards China!

"4th July 2024 - Even though EAM meets his Chinese counterpart and says, 'Respecting the LAC and ensuring peace and tranquility in the border areas is essential'," he said on X.

"China continues to be belligerent in occupying our territory and constructing a military base at Sirijap, reportedly a land that was under Indian control," Kharge said.

He alleged that the Modi government is responsible for "not maintaining the status quo ante at the Line of Actual Control".

"We have lost possession of 26 Patrolling Points (PP) out of 65 including points in Depsang Plains, Demchok and Gogra Hot Springs area," he alleged.

"'Modi Ki Chinese Guarantee' continues as his government wears 56-inch big Chinese blinkers on its 'Laal Aankh'!" Kharge said.

The Indian National Congress "once again reiterates its demand to take the nation into confidence on the border situation at LAC", he said.

"We stand shoulder to shoulder with our valiant soldiers," Kharge asserted.

The Indian and Chinese militaries have been locked in a standoff since May 2020 in eastern Ladakh and a full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved though the two sides have disengaged from a number of friction points.

The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.

The two sides have so far held 21 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks to resolve the standoff.