Cong demands white paper on China

New Delhi: Demanding a white paper on the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at the border with China, the Congress on Monday asked the government to hold a comprehensive discussion on the India-China border dispute in Parliament during the upcoming Monsoon Session. While addressing reporters, party’s senior spokesperson Manish Tewari said that three years ago, on June 19, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had 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”.

“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,” Tewari recalled.

“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 happened on the LAC in the last three years,” he said, adding, “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?”’ Tewari asked, questioning why Parliament secretariat doesn’t admit questions related to the LAC.

On September 5, 2020, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had held a two-and-a-half-hour-long discussion with his Chinese counterpart during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Moscow, he said, adding that during the Russia-India-China trilateral in Moscow on September 11, 2020, the external affairs minister had 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.

Echoing Tewari, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in a tweet, said, “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 further said that 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.